


Hard to Swallow

by OsirisApollo



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Balthazar Ships It, Betting, Boys Kissing, Charlie Ships It, College Student Castiel, College Student Dean, Dating, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Language, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hand Jobs, Happy Ending, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Matchmaker Balthazar, Matchmaker Charlie, Matchmaker Sam, Minor Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Misunderstandings, Multi, Past Castiel/Michael (Supernatural), Past Dean/Other(s), Romance, Romantic Comedy, Rumors, Sam Ships It, Sarcasm, Sexual Content, Sexual Frustration, Sexual Humor, Swearing, everyone is a little gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-11-20 19:16:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11341641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OsirisApollo/pseuds/OsirisApollo
Summary: Watch the trailer!Castiel knows all about the campus bad boy, Dean Winchester. The man’s reputation is spoken of enough that even Castiel has heard the stories. He doesn’t usually put much stock rumors, but he can’t seem to stop the loathing he feels toward Dean for his actions.With the mistakes of his past looming right behind him, the last thing he needs is another pretty boy playing with his emotions. It’s clear that Dean will be able to get under his skin easily, so he usually does his best to avoid him.That is until Dean makes him an offer he can’t seem to refuse.It’s a very simple bet. If Dean loses, he has to give up the indiscriminate sex he’s rumored to favor, for an entire month. If Castiel loses, he must live in Dean’s home for the same amount of time. Either way, the bet would change both of their lives forever.





	1. The Bet

**Author's Note:**

> **Read these notes!!**  
>  Ok! This is going to be a bit long, sorry!  
> First of all, none of the angels are related, unless it specifically says they are. Do not think of them as brothers and sisters!  
> Second, when you picture Michael in this story, picture Matt Cohen. Not as young John Winchester, not as Castiel's brother. Just Matt Cohen going by the name Michael. And only his pretty face, because Michael is a dick in this.  
> Third, Castiel is out of character. Yes, I usually pride myself on keeping them in character, but this is an AU and let's just assume that if Cas was born and raised human he wouldn't exactly be as awkward. Cas is also kind of a dick, but his shit is funny.  
> Also, Balthazar's accent is important to the way he talks. When you read his parts, make sure it's in a British accent!  
> Please do not ask me why I'm obsessed with the idea of Dean being a good cook. He's hot, and I think hot men belong in the kitchen, okay? Don't judge me.  
> I'm sorry to cut the smut, but the scene was not working out and I don't have time to fix it!  
> This piece was written as part of the [Destiel Harlequin Challenge ](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/destielharlequinchallenge2017) (although it turned out as less of a romance and more of a romantic comedy). There are a lot of great fics for this challenge, so make sure to check some of those out when you're done here!

Castiel was never late to class. As a matter of fact, he was usually early. He liked being in the room before most of the other students. He could sit in whichever seat struck his fancy, and he had time to make himself comfortable, pull out his supplies, and arrange them on the table in an organized fashion.

He especially liked to be early for this class. While most of his classes had individual desks for the students, this one had tables that two students were expected to share. If he arrived early he would be able to claim one of the tables for himself. The other students never felt the need to share with him when he’d claimed a table, and that was alright with him.

But today, he was running late; a series of unfortunate events working together to ensure his tardiness. Not that he was actually late, he slipped through the door exactly on time, but that was late for him.

It didn’t help that it was a test day, and all the students were actually present for a change. Which meant there was only one available spot left in the room — one seat, that was waiting patiently for the last student to plop down into. The last student being Castiel, of course.

That seat was in the very back of the classroom, which was unusual for a test day. The back of the room nearly always filled up before the front. The occupant of the other seat at the table was even more unusual. Recognizing the person settled there gave Castiel pause, although he knew there were no other options. His lip curled in distaste as he finished making his way to the back of the room.

The only place available was next to the one man he couldn’t stand to share his space with. Not only was it unfair that he should be forced to sit with the other man, it was also a bit puzzling. How was it possible that he was paired with Dean Winchester?

Dean was, potentially, the most liked person on the entire campus. He was constantly surrounded by friends and admirers, strutting about as if he owned the place all of the time. Even Castiel, who avoided the other man whenever possible, knew that quite a few of the people in this classroom were considered Dean’s friends. So why was he sitting in the back, alone?

It was just a continuation of the shitstorm of a day he’d been having. He didn’t remember doing anything lately that would have constituted the seemingly divine retribution he’d been suffering all day. Kharma usually treated him fairly, but today’s scale seemed unfairly balanced.

Sitting with Dean was just the cherry on top. Castiel was probably the only person in the whole room that didn’t want to be near the man, and yet he was the one being forced into his company.

Luckily, the professor had yet to arrive, so Castiel took a few seconds to pull his chair as far from the other man as he could, before arranging himself into it. He pulled out two newly sharpened pencils and an eraser, before kicking his bag under the edge of the table so no one would trip on it.

Dean watched him prepare himself for the test with a little smirk on his face, but didn’t bother to say anything. Dean’s own bag was on the floor practically blocking the entire walkway between their table and the next, and he was probably just amused that Castiel took the time to move his out of the way. The man was completely uncivilized, after all. Castiel ignored him as best he could.

Dean was not someone who was easy to ignore, but it was late enough in the year that Castiel had begun to perfect the art. When he’d first seen the other man he’d been pulled in, just as effectively as all of the others.

Dean was a beautiful man, after all. With bright green eyes, and a smile that never seemed to leave his face, he drew people to him like moth to flame. But Castiel was well aware of the fate of such a moth, and was unwilling to allow that to happen to him.

“Dean, why do you look so worried? I bet you’ve got this test in the bag!” Tessa said from the table next to theirs, pulling Castiel out of his thoughts.

He could see the flirtatious smile the man next to him threw her, before he forced his own attention back to the front of the room. He tried not to roll his eyes.

“I dunno, Tess. I always get nervous before a test.” Dean’s voice was pleasant, as you’d expect from the devil.

“Well, don’t worry so much! I’m sure you’ll do great.” Tessa replied brightly, forcing Castiel to reign in his contempt for Dean’s little fan club before he said something untoward.

“They say people that worry more have a higher intelligence.” Dean answered, the grin evident in his voice.

“I doubt that’s something you are burdened with.” Castiel commented under his breath before he could stop himself.

The man next to him tensed before swinging around to face him. “I’m sorry, what?” He asked. His tone was a warning that Castiel had no intention of heeding.

“I don’t believe you suffer the burden of intelligence.” Castiel stated, matter of factly.

The look on the other man’s face was of forced calm, as it usually was when he looked at Castiel. “What makes you want to say things like that to someone?”

“I fear explaining something so complex would only go over your head.” Yes, he knew he was being ridiculous, but he felt no need to explain himself to the other man.

“You know what, Castiel? I am sick and tired of you always treating me like I’m some kind of moron, just because you don’t like me.” Dean growled the words more than said them, which was surprising. Castiel had never seen the other man lose his temper before, and he’d said much worse than that to him.

“Well, perhaps you should do something to show me that my opinion is false. As it is, your reputation precedes you.” Castiel snapped back before he could stop himself. His mouth had always gotten away from him when he was irritated.

The look that crossed Dean’s face at the words was a mixture of surprise and irritation. “Great. So now there are rumors about me being an idiot, on top of everything else? That’s just what I need.” He rolled his eyes. “As if the trail of broken hearts wasn’t enough.”

Castiel leaned forward and lowered his voice in a threatening manner. “I know your kind, Dean Winchester. I know the kind of heartbreak men like you cause. You think just because you are good looking you can do whatever you want, no matter who gets hurt.”

Dean’s scowl returned with a vengeance. “So, you think you’re justified in treating me shitty, because you _think_ you know me? Because of my reputation?”

“If the shoe fits.” Castiel shrugged, unaffected by the other man’s ire.

“You know what? I’m sick of this attitude.”

Dean turned away from him then, the corners of his downturned mouth still clearly visible, but at least the fire in his eyes was focused elsewhere. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts more than ending the conversation, so Castiel waited. He was actually rather curious as to what Dean would come up with to defend himself.

When Dean finally turned back to him his eyes held less contempt, and something like mischief had replaced it.

“Alright, how about this.” He leaned into Castiel’s personal space. “I’ll make a deal with you. If I get a better grade on this test than you do, you have to come and stay with me for a month. Get to know me as a real person.” He said it as if spending time with him was a sure fire way to convince Castiel he’d been wrong the whole time. “And maybe you’ll have a little more respect for my intelligence when I beat you at your own game.” Dean seemed to be rather proud of his proposal. As if he thought he’d actually get a chance to implement it.

Castiel couldn’t deny that he was actually intrigued by the idea. He knew without a doubt that Dean wouldn’t be able to achieve a better grade than him. And if Dean stood to gain something from such an arrangement, then so should he — when he won.

“Stay with you?” He asked, if only for clarification.

“At my place. My brother is out of town for a while, scoping out some Universities. You can keep me company while he’s gone.” Dean grinned in that charming way he had, apparently over his anger just as quickly as it had come.

The thought of living with Dean for an entire month was fairly intimidating, but Castiel had no intention of losing such a bet. “And if I get the better grade?”

Dean shrugged easily. “Well, I don’t know. What do you want?”

He thought about making Dean do a few embarrassing things, maybe being his slave for a while, but all of them meant spending more time with the man. That was the opposite of what he wanted.

“If I win, you have to stay celibate for the month.” He decided. It would be just as much fun watching the other man try to fight his nature as it would be to humiliate him. Maybe he’d even save a couple of hearts from being broken.

“What?” Dean sounded more exasperated than confused, but Castiel repeated himself anyway.

“If I win, you have to keep it in your pants for the month you planned on making me stay with you.”

“Alright.” Dean agreed easily, although some of the irritation had returned to his expression.

“If you don’t make it the entire month, you’ll have to suffer some sort of indignity.” Castiel added, although he didn’t yet know what he’d make Dean do if he found out that the other man had reneged on their deal.

“I can abstain for a month.” Dean said with disdain, as if he was actually insulted that Castiel thought he couldn’t last that long.

“We’ll see.”

“If you win.” And just like that Dean’s confident grin returned. As if he really believed that there was no chance of Castiel winning the bet.

“Oh, yes. I am not worried about that.” He replied unperturbed. The other man clearly didn’t understand what he’d gotten himself into.

“You should be.” Dean’s grin spread, as he put out his hand.

Castiel stared at the offered hand for a moment before presenting his own. They shook with unnecessary force, and their grips were much too tight for propriety, but the deal was sealed.


	2. The Result

Castiel was a good boy. He’d never even felt compelled to be anything else. He liked following the rules. He didn’t feel the need to drink, and he’d never had the urge to smoke. He did what was expected of him, without argument.

That was, until one five minute conversation with Dean Winchester. 

Suddenly he was making rash decisions, and gambling. Gambling! It was something that had never before appealed to him; and yet somehow he’d made a bet with the other man, without a thought to the consequences.

How had he gone so wrong, so quickly? 

He’d known that Dean was nothing but bad news from day one. He’d avoided the other man, believing it was his safest option. When Dean tried to speak to him, he’d been rude and generally irritating from the beginning, making it clear that he had no interest in being a member of his little fan club. 

And he’d been successful. At first it had seemed Dean was determined to figure out why Castiel didn’t like him. But eventually, even he had become discouraged by Castiel’s continued hatred, and had taken to just ignoring him right back. It was what Castiel had been aiming for, and he should have been satisfied.

What had possessed him to antagonize the other man today? They had settled so nicely into the routine of pretending the other didn’t exist, an arrangement that Castiel himself had been paramount in establishing. Apparently, he was also the one responsible for breaking it.

 

When he made it back to his dorm, he was pleased to find his roommate already occupying the space. Having Balthazar as a roommate was both a blessing and a curse. The man was nearly the exact opposite of Castiel. On one hand, this lead to a very interesting and fulfilling friendship, but on the other hand... his roommate drove him batshit crazy. 

In the case of the terrible decisions he’d made that day, though, he was pleased to have a roommate that was unlikely to judge him too harshly. The shenanigans that Balthazar usually got up to meant he wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if he did.

“I’ve done something stupid.” Castiel told him, without preamble. The door had barely closed behind him before the words were out. 

“Cassie! I’m delighted to see you, as well!” Balthazar answered, sarcastically. He had an English accent that made everything he said seem more dramatic than it was.

Castiel rolled his eyes, dropping to sit on the bed next to his roommate. “I’m serious. I’ve made a snap decision, and I regret it already.”

Balthazar just raised a brow at him. It wasn’t as if Castiel had never done anything stupid before, but it wasn’t that common of an occurrence.

“I’ve made a bet with Dean Winchester.”

The surprise on his roommate’s face was justified. “You made a bet?” Balthazar’s accent was accentuated when he spoke more slowly. “With Dean Winchester?”

His roommate was well aware of how Castiel felt about Dean. He’d complained about him enough.

“Yes.”

“What type of bet?” Balthazar leaned toward Castiel in a sure sign that he was very interested in the answer.

“We bet that I would get a higher grade on the test than he would.”

The completely unimpressed look on his roommate’s face had him rushing to explain the rest.

“If I receive a higher grade on the test, he will have to remain celibate for a month.”

Balthazar nodded. He was well aware that Castiel’s largest issue with Dean was that he slept around. He had been there when Castiel had been dealing with the heartbreak that came with falling for a man like Dean.

“And if he wins?” 

“I have to live with him for a month.”

The shock that crossed Balthazar’s face at the admission was still warranted, but Castiel still felt it was unnecessary. He was already astounded enough at his own actions without his roommate looking so dumbfounded. He knew Balthazar had done much worse.

Then his roommate did something terrible. He began to laugh. Full bellied, obnoxious laughter filled the entire room.

“This is not funny!” Castiel snapped. He was trying to have a very serious conversation with his friend. He’d made a bad decision, and he needed advice. What he didn’t need was to be mocked.

“Oh but it is!” Balthazar seemed to be putting in quite a bit of effort into quieting his laughter. He was only partially successful. “My god, Cas! You act as if this is the end of the world!”

Castiel only glared at his roommate as he waited for him to calm himself.

“This is nothing, my friend.”

“I made a bet, Balthazar! A stupid bet, with a stupid man, and it’s too late to take it back now!”

Balthazar finally seemed to be losing his amusement, but instead of turning to concern he seemed to be leaning toward exasperation. “It’s college! It’s your last chance to do stupid things! You’re too old for them to call your parents when you fuck up. Hell, even if you find yourself arrested, you know my number. I’d bail you out and then buy you a beer for good measure!”

Acknowledging his roommate’s irritation, Castiel aimed for contrition. “I’m not like you, Balthazar. I can’t just let go like that. I don’t want to mess up my future just to have a bit of fun now.”

Balthazar’s annoyance seemed to be fading. “There’s no one here to tell you what to do, you know. There’s no one here to tell you the things you want to do are wrong. So you might as well blow coke, and jump on the bed.”

Castiel rolled his eyes at the jump from a rock star’s idea of fun to a five year old child’s. “I don’t feel the need to do either of those things.”

“Well then just make out with some cute boys or something. Do something! Anything! You only get one chance to be young and dumb! You get much older and you will have missed your chance completely.”

It was hard to argue with logic like that. If he got caught while he was young, people would chalk it up to the stupidity of youth. The older he got, the larger the stain would be.

“So you don’t think I was too stupid?”

“I’m not even sure why you think this is such a big deal, to be honest. Are you afraid you’ll lose the bet?”

“Not really.”

“Then, do you think this is a gateway into a gambling problem?”

Castiel’s nose scrunched up immediately. The amount of stress this one bet was putting on him was enough for a lifetime, and he doubted he’d ever feel the need to do something like this again.

“So, it’s not a big deal. One stupid decision is not going to change your whole life.”

And Castiel found that he did actually feel better about the whole thing, despite himself.

 

 

+++++++++++++++++

 

As soon as he entered, he saw Dean at the back of the classroom. He was in the same seat from test day. Instead of finding his own table, Castiel moved toward the other man. They would find out the results of their tests today, and he wanted to be right there next to Dean as the numbers were revealed.

Dean sent him a grin that somehow managed to look sarcastic as he took his seat.

“Hello, Dean.” He said politely, as he pulled out his things and arranged them neatly on the desk in front of him. They would have to be near each other for the entire period, and he saw no reason to begin the animosity so early. Besides, he was sure that after their scores were revealed there would be plenty of ugliness between them.

“Castiel.” Dean nodded at him, his face all business now.

Neither of them seemed to have anything to say after their greetings, and Dean played on his phone while he waited for class to start. Castiel made sure his notes were up to date, and did his best to ignore the tension he could feel radiating off the other man.

Dean had seemed so confident the day of the test, but it was clear to Castiel that he was nervous about the results. Not that he could blame the man. There was something to be said about the extra pressure of the bet on top of the regular worry about making good grades. Castiel had barely been able to choke down his breakfast, and he was sure to win. He could only imagine the duress that Dean suffered.  

It seemed to take forever for class to begin, and then even longer for the professor to get through the announcements he wanted to make. By the time he started passing the tests back, Castiel felt like he was going to explode with anticipation.

When the professor finally placed his test face down on the table in front of him, his heart skipped a beat. It was the moment of truth.

Castiel turned the paper over from the side facing away from Dean. It was petty, but he wanted to see his results before the other man. He didn’t know why he was letting his nerves get the best of him. He knew he made a good grade.

**95%**

He’d missed two questions. That wasn’t bad. It wasn’t the one hundred percent he’d been shooting for, of course, but he was still confident that it was better than whatever Dean had received. He let out a relieved breath as he finished turning the paper over so the other man would be able to see his score.

“Now we’ll just have to see how much you cheated off of my paper.” He told Dean, causing the other man to roll his eyes. 

The professor stopped in front of their table again, placing Dean’s test face down as he had all of the others. Both men just stared at it for a moment.

Castiel expected Dean to do as he had, peeking at the number before revealing it to him. He didn’t expect the other man to lock eyes with him and flip the paper without fanfare or losing eye contact. There was a challenge in his eyes, as if he believed if he could keep Castiel’s attention long enough, he might forget about the bet.

Castiel finally pulled his gaze away to glance down at the other man’s paper.

**102.5%**

Castiel’s heart stopped in his chest. He’d lost. He’d lost a bet to Dean Winchester. A bet  _ based on test grades _ .

“Maybe you should have been cheating off my paper, instead.” Dean said, and Castiel didn’t even have to look up to see the smug smile on the other man’s face. It was clear in every syllable as he spoke. He found himself looking anyway.

He felt as if he’d fallen directly into a trap. A feeling that was only magnified by the mischief in Dean’s eyes. He’d made a foolish bet, that much was clear. A stupid, ridiculous wager, and he had been  _ so sure _ he would win. He presumed to know the level of the other man’s intelligence, based solely on rumor and speculation, and he was going to pay for his assumptions.

“Don’t worry. I’ll clean the sheets for you.” Dean’s grin was so large it spanned the entirety of his face.

Very suddenly, Castiel was worried about a slew of things that he hadn’t bothered to think about before.

“I don’t even know where you live.” He said, his voice coming out defeated without his permission.

“Don’t worry, it’s close.”

“I don’t have a car, I live on campus.”

“You can borrow my brother’s bike if you want. It’s not so far you can’t walk, though. Property is cheaper closer to the college. Afraid of rowdy kids, I guess.” Dean’s enthusiasm seemed to be fading. Castiel was at least grateful for that.

“When is your brother leaving?” He couldn’t even force his voice to an acceptable level. He was miserable.

“Next week.” Dean sounded almost as if he were speaking to a wounded animal, and Castiel hated to think what expression he was wearing to cause the other man to try to contain his smugness.

And he had every reason to be smug. That was the part that really hurt. Castiel had been so confident that there was no way Dean would be able to do better on a test than him. He had been so assured of his victory, never once believing that Dean had a chance.

It would have been bad enough if the other man had received full credit on the test, besting Castiel with just a perfect score. But he hadn’t. He’d gotten more than full marks, meaning he’d completed the bonus question. The one that had been so in depth and convoluted that Castiel hadn’t even attempted it. Dean hadn’t only attempted it, but he’d answered it correctly. Castiel couldn’t even claim that Dean was just good at taking tests. He clearly had a full understanding of the subject matter.

The professor had finished passing out the results of the exam, calling for the students attention so they could begin the lesson. A lesson Castiel was sure to miss with the way his mind was whirring with his loss.

Dean leaned over to whisper. “Don’t worry about it now. We’ll work out the specifics later.” He sounded reasonable. He wasn’t even rubbing his victory in Castiel’s face. But that may have been the worst part of all.

 


	3. The Move

“Honey, I’m home!” Balthazar announced his presence, unnecessarily, as he waltzed in.

Castiel didn’t even bother to acknowledge the other man. He was busy packing the things he’d need to take with him for his extended stay away from the dorm.

“What’s this all about, then?” Balthazar asked, glancing around at the half packed boxes strewn about the room. 

“I’m moving in with Dean Winchester.”

Balthazar let loose an impressed whistle, and a mocking grin spread across his face. “Damn, Cassie! You move quick!” He said, as if he didn’t already know why Castiel was leaving.

“Shut up.” He didn’t even have the energy to really banter with his roommate.

At least it seemed like Balthazar recognized his mood. He sat at the end of his own bed and just watched Castiel pack for a couple of minutes.

“You really lost?” He sounded as doubtful as Castiel felt.

“Yes.”

“Who would have thought?” At least he had the good sense to seem properly astounded. “How much did he beat you by?”

“He got a one-oh-two point five. He had a better than perfect score.” Castiel said despondently, throwing his own test at the other man. He didn’t even want to acknowledge out loud the gap between their scores.

“So, do you think he slept with the professor to get a better grade?” Balthazar asked, crudely. Castiel knew he was only trying to cheer him up.

“Professor Adler is a man.”

“That wouldn’t have stopped you.” His roommate pointed out.

Castiel made a face at that. As true as that might be, he had more reasons than just the gender of their professor to believe that Dean wouldn’t have worked out a better grade in that way. “He’s like fifty. And bald.”

“Everyone has their kinks.”

Castiel let loose an involuntary full body shudder at the idea of anyone having sex with his professor. 

He was still for a moment, thinking. Eventually, he sighed and turned his full attention on Balthazar. The other man’s grin dropped a little as he seemed to realize Castiel was serious.

“I think it was a trap from the very beginning. And I stepped right into it. Dean knew he would be getting top marks on that test. He knew exactly what he was doing, and I was just... an idiot.” He was disgusted with himself, and the way he’d acted.

“Well, how were you to know he was that prepared for the test?” Balthazar seemed to be defending Castiel to himself, which was a bit ridiculous.

“I shouldn’t have judged his intelligence without any evidence. I assumed he was just scraping by, because of the rumors I’ve heard about him. It never even occurred to me that he might not spend all of his time studying because he already knew the material.” Castiel was fairly resigned to the fact that the whole thing was his own fault. It didn’t help that Dean really had gotten what he wanted from their little bet. Castiel had to acknowledge the other man’s intelligence, now.

Balthazar made a little noise of recognition. “You’re just pissed at yourself, then.”

“And Dean.” Castiel couldn’t help but add.

“And Dean.” Balthazar agreed, the smile evident in his words.

“This is  _ not _ funny.” Castiel protested, although there was no real heat in his words.

“Oh, darling.” Balthazar came close to throw a friendly arm over his shoulders. “This might be the best thing you’ve done.”

Castiel’s body gave an involuntary jolt at the words. “ _ What? _ ”

His roommate gave a little chuckle at his dramatic reaction. “I know you think this is just awful, but I truly think this will be good for you.”

“How?”

“You’ve never done anything like this in your entire life. Just think of it as an adventure.”

Castiel couldn’t help the incredulity he felt at that. An adventure? It felt more like a prison sentence. 

 

 

Dean’s brother wasn’t leaving town until the weekend, so Castiel got to spend the remainder of the week complaining to Balthazar about his fate. 

Dean had agreed to pick him up on Sunday afternoon, since Castiel didn’t have his own car. He should have been grateful, but he wasn’t. He was too bitter.

When Dean called to tell him he was in the parking lot, Castiel made his way downstairs with his box of books, followed by Balthazar with his bag of clothes. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but the sleek black muscle car was not it.

It probably should have been. The car looked like it was made for the man, and when he got out of it in his leather jacket and jeans, he looked like every 1980s college movie ever made. The Def Leppard coming from the speakers just completed the picture.

“Very nice.” Balthazar said under his breath as they approached. Castiel threw him a look of disgust.

“Now, where are you taking my little Cassie?” His now ex-roommate asked when they were within earshot.

“Cassie?” The last thing Castiel needed was a nickname like that being picked up by Dean, but the man looked more disturbed than anything.

“Only he can call me that.” He said quickly, before the man got any ideas.

“Right. Well, uh… I guess I can give you the address. I don’t want you worrying that I’ve kidnapped your friend.” Dean shrugged nonchalantly and opened the trunk.

“Yes, that would be appreciated.” Balthazar and Dean fell into some kind of tough guy staring contest. Castiel was sure there was a warning along the lines of ‘nothing better happen to my friend while he’s there’ left unspoken.

He moved to throw the box into the trunk, ignoring the other two men. Eventually, Balthazar threw his bag down next to it.

“Well, then. I guess this is goodbye.” Was followed by a spectacular sigh.

“I’ll only be gone a month.” Castiel rolled his eyes at the man’s propensity for over-dramatization. “Don’t go giving away my bed or anything.”

Balthazar clutched a hand to his chest as if he’d been shot.

“I would never!” He grinned before his expression dropped into something more serious. Castiel was pulled into the other man’s arms briefly, and, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” was whispered into his ear.

“Goodbye, Balthazar.” He said plainly, throwing in a glare for good measure. The list of things that Balthazar wouldn’t do was a very short list.

The man grinned and turned away, saluting Dean mockingly.

“That’s all you’re bringing?” Castiel looked down at the one box he’d decided to bring with him, and the bag that held nearly all of his clothes.

“Yes.” He stated simply.

Dean shrugged and slammed the trunk closed. “Well, let’s get this show on the road.”

 

 

Finding out that Dean lived off campus was nothing compared to finding out that he owned a home. It wasn’t every day you found a man in his early twenties that could make that kind of claim.

The place wasn’t bad looking either. He might’ve pictured a run down bachelor pad, if he’d heard the place existed before, but it was actually kind of nice. 

From the outside you could tell the place was small, but it still looked taken care of. Even the yard looked well kept. Dean pulled his car into the driveway, and under an attached carport. 

After seeing the clean, smooth look of the car, Castiel could imagine that Dean took very good care of it. He might even go so far as to say that he’d probably been the one to build the carport for it.

They hadn’t spoken much on the drive over, and neither of them seemed keen to change that anytime soon. They unloaded the car in silence, and when Dean unlocked the door he pushed it open, allowing Castiel into the house first.

The inside was as small as he’d assumed it would be. There was no foyer, the door opened directing into the living space. It was just large enough for a couple of couches and a decent sized tv.

If there had been a dining area, it had been reallocated to make the living space larger. The kitchen was off to the side, and had obviously been remodeled to make the space seem larger. Where there once had been a wall separating the rooms, there was now a large island that made the kitchen a part of the main room. The space was still very small.

Dean led Castiel down a hallway with two doors on one side, and one on the other. He pointed toward the door at the end of the hall. 

“That’s the bathroom.” Then he pointed to the door right next to it. “That’s my room.” That left only one room available and Castiel made his way toward the last door.

“This will be your room.” Dean threw the door open with a flourish.

The room was sparsely decorated, with a queen bed in the center of the main wall, a nightstand beside it, and a dresser on the other side. He was surprised to note the visible collectables and furniture all seemed to be well taken care of.

Castiel knew that Dean had likely told his brother that someone would be staying in his room while he was away, but he was still surprised by the cleanliness of the room. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“Your brother gets the larger room?” He asked before he could help himself.

“Yeah, well, when you see him you’ll understand why.” Dean’s face was fond as he spoke of his brother. “Besides, I’m not home as often as he is. I usually spend my free time in the living room, anyway.”

Dean indicated a desk that was pushed up against the wall near the closet. “Sammy likes to do his homework in peace.”

Castiel nodded. He was the same way. He’d taken to doing his work while Balthazar was out on the weekends, so he wouldn’t have to worry about being interrupted.

“Anyway, get settled in. I have class in the morning, so I need to finish up my homework and get to bed.” Dean lingered for a moment

“Please don’t mess with any of my brother’s things. He said he cleared out a drawer in the dresser for you to use. Other than that, I’d appreciate if you left the rest of his things alone.”

Castiel nodded. He did have morals. He didn’t even know Dean’s brother, so he had no reason to mess with his things.

“The only thing I ask, while you’re here, is that you respect our personal space. My room is off limits, and Sammy’s stuff is off limits.”

Castiel was a little insulted by the insinuation that he’d be that kind of guest, even in the home of someone he couldn’t stand. “Of course.”

They glared at each other for a moment, each of them unwilling to back down. Eventually Dean turned away from him.

“Goodnight, Castiel.” He said gruffly, heading toward his bedroom.

Castiel thought he should have felt some kind of victory from Dean being the one to turn away first, but he really didn’t.

 

 

The next morning they both had classes to attend, and while Dean was in the bathroom getting ready, Castiel went to the kitchen to make coffee. He had always been a late riser, so he usually didn’t bother with breakfast. Caffeine was a must, though.

He gathered his things for school, changed his clothes, and basically did everything he could think to do outside of the bathroom while he waited. He didn’t know what Dean was doing in there, but he would be late for class if he didn’t leave soon. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to brush his teeth. He waited patiently, until he just couldn’t wait anymore.

He could hear the other man in there, the water in the sink was running, and the door was wide open. He had no fear that he would walk in on anything he shouldn’t see.

He made his way across the hallway with determination. Dean was not going to make him late for class because he wanted to take the bathroom for the entire morning. 

Dean’s back was toward the door, and Castiel moved into the room behind him. If he could get the man to move a few inches to the side, he would be able to reach his toothbrush. At this point he was willing to brush his teeth in the kitchen sink, if necessary.

Before he had a chance to say as much, Dean looked up from whatever it was that he’d been doing and spotted Castiel in the mirror. The other man jumped in surprise.

“Gah!” Dean exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the sink in front of him in his shock. “Don’t do that!”

“Hello, Dean.” He responded, sarcastically. Dean just sighed, turning to face him. The very small distance between them was even more apparent when they were face to face.

Dean’s breathing was ragged from his shock, and Castiel couldn’t help but be proud he’d been able to startle the other man so effectively, especially when he hadn’t even been trying.

“Cas, dude. Personal space.” Dean said, but he didn’t back away.

“My apologies.” His tone was nowhere near apologetic. “I only hoped that I’d be allowed to brush my teeth at some point this morning.” 

“Well, wait your turn! This bathroom isn’t big enough for the both of us!”

His original plan had been to take his toothbrush and escape, but with Dean’s attitude, he formulated a new one. He moved farther into the room, and used all of his strength to force the other man through the doorway. As soon as Dean was far enough, he slammed the door, throwing all his weight against it so he could lock it before the other man could retaliate.

“What the hell Cas! My jacket is in there!”

“Yes well, I guess you will just have to wait your turn.” Castiel replied smugly, as he prepared his toothbrush. The sound of pure frustration from the other side of the door brought a smile to his face.

“You’re such a dick!” The declaration was accompanied by a loud bang, that was probably a boot to the door.

The only noise came from Castiel brushing his teeth for a moment. A few seconds later, the sound of the front door slamming reverberated through the house.


	4. The Beginning

If Dean was going to keep Castiel from being able to use the bathroom in the morning, Castiel was going to do the same to him in the afternoon. Dean had informed him of his schedule, and Castiel was well aware that Dean had to go to work almost immediately after he got home from school. Dean said he usually only had time for a quick shower and to grab a sandwich to go before he had to head out again. That schedule was about to change.

He didn’t know exactly what time Dean would be home from school, but he had a pretty good idea. He had to leave class a few minutes early, but it would be worth it if he beat Dean back to the house.

When he rounded the corner, Dean’s car was nowhere to be seen and Castiel couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. He made his way into the house as quickly as possible, grabbing everything he’d need and rushing into the bathroom. His plan wouldn’t work if it didn’t look like he’d been in there for a while.

After starting the flow of warm water into the tub, he dumped half a bottle of bubbles into the stream. He knew that the chances were fairly high that Dean was going to end up in the room, and he didn’t want the man to see anything he shouldn’t.

While he waited for the tub to fill, he lit the candles he’d brought. He had never actually taken a bath like this before, but it was part of the scene he was going for. Total relaxation. He even filled a glass with wine and set it on the edge of the tub. Yes, that would do nicely.

The tub was nearly filled, so he stripped down. He made sure his robe was within reaching distance, before stepping into the water.

It quickly became apparent that he had done something wrong as fire crept up from where the lower half of his legs were submerged. The water that had felt pleasantly warm to his hand felt like lava on his feet. He quickly reached forward and turned off the hot tap, hoping the cool water would be enough to lower the temperature. Thankfully, it seemed to be working. 

Just as he started to swish the water around a bit, mixing the cold in with the hot, he heard a sound from the main room, and knew he was out of time. He shut the water off, hoping that Dean hadn’t heard it running. The sound of the front door closing made him believe the timing had been perfect.

He could hear the other man moving about in the house, and tried to convince his body to continue into the tub the rest of the way. His whole plan would be blown otherwise.

There was a quiet knock at the door.

“Cas?”

“Yes?”

“Uh… Are you almost done in there?” Dean asked, his tone neutral.

“No.” Castiel answered gruffly, but mostly because he’d managed to get onto his knees, and it was difficult trying to lower himself into a tub while simultaneously trying to keep his genitals from touching the water

“What the hell are you doing in there?”

“I’m taking a bath.”

Dean let out a sound of frustration. “I need to take a shower.”

“Well, I suppose you’ll have to wait.”

He hadn’t even bothered to lock the door. He had no doubt that the other man could have picked the lock anyway. He was running out of time before Dean opened it and discovered him just hovering above the water. He needed to be in by the time the door opened. It was all part of the plan, and Castiel’s plans never failed. 

He took a deep breath and then forced himself to drop into the water the rest of the way.

Good god, that burned like hellfire! There was no chance his ass would ever forgive him for this. His poor dick would probably rebel and fall off. He wouldn’t even blame it.

The deed was done, and it was too late to change anything now. He still had a chance to get one over on Dean, though. He scooped up the wine glass and leaned back into the water, draping himself in a way that should be the picture of comfort.

The door swung open at exactly that moment, as if Dean had been waiting for his cue. Surprise was etched across his face. He probably hadn’t been expecting the door to be unlocked.

“What the hell, Cas?”

“I told you. I am taking a bath. It’s rather rude to just walk in on someone like that, you know. What if I hadn’t had any bubbles?” He kept his tone light, and unbothered, as if men barged in on his baths every day.

Dean seemed to completely ignore his efforts. “I told you that I try to get a shower in between classes and work.”

“Yes, well, after the disaster of a morning I had, I needed a nice relaxing bath.” Castiel said casually, swirling the wine in his glass.

“What disaster?”

“I was kept out of the bathroom all morning. In fact, I was almost late to class because I was unable to brush my teeth.” Castiel took a sip of the prop wine he’d poured. He then had to train his features back into a casual expression as he forced himself to swallow the disgusting liquid.

Dean’s expression turned from confusion to irritation in a heartbeat. “This is some kind of payback for taking too long in the bathroom this morning?”

Castiel tilted his head in acknowledgement.

“God damn it, Cas. This is ridiculous!” Dean threw his hands up in frustration, and he looked at Castiel as if he expected him to see reason, or apologize.

That was not happening.

“Fine. You know what? Two can play at that game, buddy.”

Dean slammed the door on his way out.

Castiel did not pause to revel in his victory. Instead, he jumped up as quickly as he safely could. He scrambled out of the tub, getting his balls as far away from the scalding water as possible, and praying they would return to a normal color eventually.

 

The next morning, Castiel was unsurprised when he couldn’t get into the bathroom. Dean must have been very determined to be the first one in there, since he had gotten home sometime after Castiel had gone to sleep last night.

Luckily for Castiel, his classes didn’t start as early today, so even if Dean stayed in there until the moment he had to leave for class, it wouldn’t mess with his schedule today. That knowledge was enough to bring a smile to his face, even before he’d had his mandatory three cups of coffee.

If Dean planned to make taking over the bathroom in the mornings into some sort of habit, Castiel would just have to make sure he showered at night while the other man was at work. It might not be a bad idea to keep his toothbrush in his bedroom, either.

He pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt before heading to the kitchen to get his coffee started. Once the coffee pot was set up, and the sweet nectar of the gods was quietly brewing, he pulled out a book to keep him occupied while he waited.

When Dean finally came out of the bathroom, one look at the clock told him the man had waited until the last possible minute. With the drive to campus, and trying to find a parking space, he would be lucky to make it to class on time.

“Did I take too long in the bathroom?” Dean asked with a sweet tone that clearly said he knew he had.

“No, it’s fine. My classes don’t start until later today.” He told the man breezily, casually flipping a page in his book as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Dean looked incredibly disappointed and Castiel added a point to his mental tally.

“Well, it’s free now.” He said, despondently.

“Thank you, Dean.” Castiel said politely, but he couldn’t stop the grin that crossed his face.

 

 

Castiel knew there were only so many days that he could take up the bathroom between Dean’s classes and work, before things started to get ugly. He put his limit at three days, and then he started to get really creative.

One day he discovered a chalk powder that was the same color as the towels usually found in the bathroom. Once the inside of the towel was covered, he only had to wait for Dean to dry himself. The roar of anger that came from the room, and the sound of the shower turning back on, was his reward.

He left it alone for two days before he tried anything else. He spent those two days learning how to pick the bathroom lock.

By the third day, it was easy to get into the room while Dean showered. First he went to the sink, and slowly turned on the hot water until it was completely open. Then, he crept over and flushed the toilet. He ran from the room as fast as his legs could carry him. His name was bellowed loudly from the room, followed by the sound of Dean ripping the curtain off the hooks in his haste to get out of the tub.

Dean had forced him to buy a new shower curtain, and had seemed abnormally angry at that one. It may have had something to do with having to rinse his hair in the sink, afterward. Castiel decided to go back to using that hour to bathe instead. He’d actually gotten used to his relaxing baths, and kind of missed them when he was finding other ways to mess with Dean, anyway. 

 

 

While Castiel preferred bathing at the most inconvenient times for his new roommate, Dean had his own ways of retaliation. On the days that he could keep Castiel out of the bathroom all morning, he did. But on the days where that didn’t matter, he found other things.

One day, Castiel received a call from a name he did not recognize. He denied the call without a thought. It was nearly an hour later when he received a text from the same unrecognizable name that he realized something was wrong. If the name and the phone number were saved in his phone, how did he not know them?

He opened up his contacts to see if he could find out any more information about the person and instantly realized that he didn’t recognize  _ any _ of the names. Well, he recognized them, but not as friends of his. Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Bruce Wayne, Kirk, and Spock were just a few of the names. There were some he didn’t know, but he assumed they were also characters that he’d just never seen. Dean had changed every single contact in his phone.

It was incredibly embarrassing texting everyone he knew, asking them who they were. Some of his friends were understanding, but then some of his friends used this mix up to mess with him. The one that was the worst he marked as Balthazar, although the other man had never actually confirmed it.

 

 

Castiel was a little concerned about the class they shared together. He didn’t really know how to mess with the other man, and still get his work done, but he was worried that Dean wouldn’t have the same issue. It turned out to be a needless fear. They sat at opposite ends of the room from each other, showing up early to ensure they wouldn’t get stuck sitting any closer. They spent the entire class period acting as if the other didn’t even exist.

 

 

Once the weekend came, the script was flipped entirely. Dean worked most of his shifts during the week so that he could have his weekends available. Castiel worked only on the weekend. Luckily, Dean seemed to like sleeping in on the weekends, so Castiel had the bathroom to himself in the morning. Unfortunately, Dean had all day to think of ways to torture him when he got home.

Castiel only worked half days, most of the time. Even with the walk he now had to do, he could still make it back to the house before two. He usually reserved weekends for his larger school projects so he could work for uninterrupted hours at a time on them. Of course, that was before he’d become roommates with Dean Winchester.

As soon as he arrived at the house, he knew his homework plans were dashed. The sound of electric guitars could be heard from the end of the block, and the volume only increased the closer he got to the house. Opening the door was like stepping into an AC/DC concert.

There was no way he’d be able to concentrate with music playing at this volume. He sighed as he made his way into the house. He hadn’t told Dean of his plans to study, but he knew that even if he did now Dean would be happy to continue messing up his plans.

Dean was in the kitchen, singing along with the deafening music coming from the speakers. He didn’t even seem to notice that Castiel was home.

The bedroom door closing behind him did nothing to dampen the sound, and Castiel sighed as he dropped into the desk chair. He knew it was useless, but he had to at least try to get some work done.

 

It was nearly two hours before Dean did something even more despicable.

Castiel had been mostly minding his own business, hiding in his room and trying to muffle the sounds, but eventually he’d needed food and he’d made his way into the kitchen to nuke himself a meal. The smell that struck him as he came from his room was enough to make him salivate.

Dean was cooking. And it wasn’t the macaroni and cheese, or Hungry Man meals that Castiel had grown accustomed to. It was  _ real _ food.

The man was throwing ingredients into a bowl carelessly, singing along to the music still blaring through the house, and upturning ingredients to the beat. There was a pie crust pressed into a pan on the counter next to him, so it wasn’t hard to guess what he was making. What  _ was _ hard to guess was what the heartier smell coming from the oven was.

There was no way in hell Dean was a good cook. That would just be an unfair advantage, and Dean already had way too many of those. Did the man have to be completely perfect? It just wasn’t fair.

Sitting in his room with his disgusting microwave meal while the smell of Dean’s gourmet meal wafted down the hall felt like the worst torture Castiel had suffered so far.

 

Castiel only had to make one call to get back at Dean. He’d spent most of his shift daydreaming of ways to get back at the man, before he was stuck by brilliance. He called his ex-roommate to put his plan in action. Balthazar loved the idea, and promised he would take care of everything.

It was almost nine at night before his plan came into effect. The first knock at the door had Dean frowning, but he got up to answer it.

“Cassie!” Balthazar’s voice rang through the house, and Castiel grinned. He pulled himself up and moved to greet his friend.

“Balthazar! It’s lovely to see you!” Castiel threw his arms around his friend in a hug. It was truly only for show, so Dean wouldn’t be too suspicious. It wasn’t until they had been holding each other for a little longer than decorum permitted that Castiel realized he’d really needed that hug. 

“I’ve missed you, my friend.” He said as he stepped away. His tone was much more serious than he’d meant for it to be.

“You’ve only been gone a week!” Balthazar said with a laugh, but he slung his arm around Castiel in a friendly manner.

Had it really only been a week? It felt like eternity.

 

It wasn’t until the third person showed up that Dean started to look suspicious. He hadn’t said a word about Castiel inviting his friends over. That is until Balthazar’s best friend, Gabriel, showed up with a bottle of liquor in each hand.

“Are we having a party?” Dean asked, glaring at him in a way that said he was not happy at that turn of events.

“Oh no. It’s just a small gathering of people.” Castiel answered. He knew he wasn’t fooling the other man, but he wasn’t really trying to.

The sixth person to knock on the door was at least someone that Castiel recognized, although he didn’t particularly care for her. Anna was Balthazar’s baby sister, although she wasn’t much of a baby anymore. She would be attending their college next year. He’d never really held any affection for the girl, and with the way Dean was looking at her, he liked her even less.

“Don’t get any ideas there, pretty boy.” Balthazar said before he could, coming up to stand next to the two of them.

Dean’s attention swung back to them immediately.

“She’s only seventeen, and she’s my baby sister. You’ll have to go through me  _ and _ Cas, and it’s just not worth it.” Balthazar’s tone was joking, but his eyes were deadly serious. Castiel wondered why he’d even invited his sister to begin with.

“You don’t have to worry about me.” Dean raised his arms in a gesture of surrender. “She’s not really my type.”

That just left Castiel angry in an entirely different way. What was wrong with Anna? She was a beautiful girl. She was intelligent and graceful and everything a man could be looking for. Other than the fact that she was illegal.

“Good.” Balthazar clapped a hand to Dean’s back with such force it knocked him forward a little. “Let’s keep it that way, shall we?”

 

Castiel saw the whole thing as if it was in slow motion, and there was nothing he could do about it. 

Balthazar’s idiot friends were play wrestling over a bottle of Jack Daniels someone brought. It was all fun and games, except there just wasn’t room for two fully grown men to be throwing each other around. Even when the room wasn’t full of people, it still would have been a bad idea. As it was, they were turning the room into a mosh pit. 

This was not the kind of disruption Castiel had been aiming for, and he moved forward to stop the activity. Although he was hoping to upset Dean, this was still his home, after all.

He wasn’t fast enough. One of the boys lost his balance, his arms windmilling in an effort to right himself. Everyone’s attention was drawn as one of his arms collided with the collectables on top of the smaller shelf, sending them across the room. Most of them would be fine, but Castiel watched, horrified, as an ancient looking snow globe crashed to the floor and exploded.

“Alright! That is IT!” Dean had finally snapped it seemed. “Get the fuck out of my house!”

The rage coming off Dean was palpable, and no one even questioned his order. They gathered their things and got out as quickly as they could. 

Balthazar gave Castiel a little hug before he left, whispering in his ear. “I think you did a decent job of pissing him off today.”

“Thanks for a great party!” He threw over his shoulder as he walked out, sending a cheeky wave toward Dean.

Dean just scowled at the last of the interlopers as they headed out, and then he slammed the door after they were gone.

“Dean…” Castiel started, although he didn’t really know what he would say.

“Just go away, Cas.” Dean’s voice was dejected.

Castiel moved to start cleaning up the mess on the floor.

“Leave it!” Dean snapped, stalking into the room and pushing him toward the hallway. “Just go!”

Castiel had never seen Dean look so angry before. He decided it was wisest to just take Dean’s advice. He spent the rest of the night in his room, finally getting some of his homework done.

 

 

Sunday turned out to be rather peaceful, with each of them just avoiding the other when he got home from work. It wasn’t like in the beginning, when they were pushing boundaries. They barely even acknowledged each other when they were caught outside of their rooms at the same time.

Castiel actually felt pretty bad about how the party had turned out, so he took some time away from doing his homework to get the common spaces cleaned up. Only after Dean had made himself some food, though. He didn’t want a confrontation.

Dean had already cleaned up the mess from the shelf being knocked over, but Castiel cleaned the rest of it. There were empty cans and cups and food wrappers that those heathens had somehow littered the house with. They weren’t his friends, but the party had been his idea, and he felt like it was only fair to clean up after it.

He even had time to get his laundry done, since Dean seemed content to spend his time away from him. He nuked himself a meal and went back to his room. He still had plenty of homework to do, and since it was actually quiet, he might even be able to get it done.

 

He should have known better, honestly. He’d been doing everything in his power to instigate a fight with Dean. Apparently, it was time for the man to retaliate.

Of course, Castiel had no idea anything was wrong until he went out to switch his laundry to the dryer. As soon as he opened the washer he cringed.

Every single white thing he owned was now pink. All of his boxers, his socks, and even his undershirts where now the color of pepto bismol. He sighed as he switched them over to the dryer. He didn’t have the kind of extra money it would take to replace all the clothes that had been damaged. He might as well get used to the idea of wearing a whole lot of pink.

He chose not to retaliate over his new wardrobe. It was such a trivial thing after all, and he might have even deserved it. When he passed Dean in the hallway later he sent him a smile. Dean didn’t need the satisfaction of knowing he’d got one over on him.

 

 

The next morning things were even more odd. It was one of Castiel’s early days, but instead of Dean taking over the bathroom, he was in the kitchen, humming while he made breakfast. Maybe all they’d really needed was a good night sleep, and some time away from each other.

As much as Castiel had been enjoying his bath times in the afternoon, he couldn’t help but feel satisfied when he got to shower in the morning. He even got to take his time, since he’d gotten a healthy amount of sleep and had been able to wake at a decent hour.

Half an hour later he was clean, refreshed, and ready for his day. He headed to the kitchen to get himself some coffee. He might even have time to sit and enjoy a cup before he had to leave.

Dean was nowhere to be found, and Castiel was glad. The peace they’d somewhat established the day before was fragile, and the less time they spent together the better.

Castiel hadn’t even been that upset when he’d had to pull on his pink socks on that morning. That was progress.

 

 

Dean had done something to his coffee! That asshole! Castiel had never felt this worked up from drinking coffee before, and there was no other explanation. His hands were severely shaking, and he found himself yelling more often than not.

It was like he’d taken shots of pure adrenaline. It didn’t help that he had to pee every hour for fear that he’d wet his pants.

Whatever Dean had done, it was not wearing off. He was lucky he didn’t have any classes with the man that day, or there may have been actual fists thrown. Who did he think he was? Never mess with coffee.

After the third person he’d snapped at not to “fucking touch him” he decided it was time to go home. He was clearly not in his right mind, and being at school was pointless when he was distracted by the tiniest things. 

On his walk home he’d ended up following a bee for blocks, before he’d realized he had no idea where he was anymore. Luckily, he was still amped up, and he was able to jog around until he found something familiar.

Almost as soon as he got back to the house, the effects of his spiked coffee began to wear off. One second he was pacing his room trying to come up with a fitting retribution for Dean, and the next he was waking up.

He was face down on the floor when he opened his eyes, with no knowledge of how he’d gotten there, but fairly certain he never wanted to be there again. He’d never thought of his room as dirty, but the close up he had of the carpet now made him rethink that.

He peeled himself off the floor, rubbing his face. God, he felt like he’d been hit by a truck.

He could hear the sounds of someone moving around the interior of the house, and assumed that Dean was home from school.

Castiel cornered the other man in the kitchen, before he could leave again. “What will it take to keep you from messing with my coffee?”

Dean grinned at him, probably taking in his rumpled state. He held out the canister of energy drink powder that he’d apparently spiked the coffee with.

Castiel sighed. At least he hadn’t actually been drugged. It was just considerably more caffeine than he was accustomed to. Or, at least, it had been delivered faster than he was used to.

“I need my coffee in the morning, Dean. I am willing to pay a forfeit to keep you from ruining my daily ritual. What do you want?”

“You mean, you’ll make a deal with me? In exchange for keeping out of your coffee grounds?” The man looked highly intrigued by the idea.

“Yes.”

Dean looked thoughtful for a moment, and Castiel worried about what he’d ask for. Instead of the evil grin he’d been expecting, Dean’s face turned solemn. 

“Alright. I’d like it if I could have the bathroom in the afternoon. You can’t be in there from the time I get home from school until the time I go to work. No messing with my showers either. It can be my hour of peace.”

Castiel hated to give that up. It was his favorite time of the day, after all. Was that worth having fresh, untainted coffee every morning?

“It’s a deal.” He said, and they shook on it. It would be hard, but he still had plenty of other hours in the day to torture Dean.


	5. The Brother

One might think that coming to a compromise over some of the tortures they’d been inflicting on each other would make their home a more peaceful place. They would be very wrong.

Since Castiel couldn’t mess with Dean during his hour between classes and work, he had to become more creative. Dean’s work schedule didn’t permit him much time to antagonize the man, but he would think of something. Even if he had to wait until the weekend to implement it.

Of course, that didn’t stop them from doing the small things to still irritate each other, even if they didn’t have a chance to do anything really disruptive.

Dean seemed to be well aware, at this point, that Castiel was not a morning person, and was using that to his advantage. Between setting Castiel’s alarm to go off two hours early, and setting traps to trip him up while he was still groggy in the mornings, Dean was using his weakness against him like a master strategist.

The first time Castiel woke up two hours early for school, he grumbled a bit, but just reset his alarm for the proper time, and went back to sleep. A few days later Dean tried again, with much more success. Instead of just setting his alarm early, he set Castiel’s clock for later. He’d even gone through the entire house, resetting all of the clocks. It wasn’t until Castiel was almost ready to leave that he noticed that Dean wasn’t yet awake. He finally glanced down at his phone and realized he was up and ready an hour before it was necessary. Dean’s plan had been incredibly successful, that is until Castiel made his way into Dean’s room and forced him awake, too. He had no desire to suffer in silence. 

Messing with his clock wasn’t the only thing that Dean had done to him in the morning, either. Once, on his way out of his room, he was met with an invisible resistance that had almost knocked him on his ass. It felt as if his face had collided with something nearly solid, and when he put his hand out he found his doorway had been covered in saran wrap.

“Very mature, Dean!” He yelled, ripping the plastic from the wall. Dean’s giggles could be heard clearly, even from his own room.

Castiel had retaliated by rubbing crisco all over the floor in the kitchen and laughing until he couldn’t breathe as Dean slid around looking like a baby deer that had just learned to walk.

When Castiel had figured out that Dean was allergic to cats, he stopped by the nearest pet store. He’d picked up every cat they would let him, making sure his clothes were thoroughly covered in fur before he made his way home. It was worth the trip when Dean spent the next three days with itchy watery eyes and couldn’t even stop sneezing long enough to make himself a sandwich.

  
  


“My brother is coming home for the weekend.”

Castiel glanced up from the book he was reading, startled. He and Dean hadn’t really been speaking to each other for days. Well, not anything further than making fun of the other when their pranks paid off, anyway.

“Okay.” He didn’t really know what else to say. This was Sam’s home, after all. It wasn’t as if he could complain about any guests that Dean decided to invite over, either.

“What will it take for you to be nice to my brother while he’s here?”

Castiel was surprised at the question. He had no intention of harboring ill will toward the younger Winchester, just because he didn’t get along with Dean.

“What?”

“I’ll pay a forfeit, or whatever. I just don’t want Sammy to feel uncomfortable in his own home.” Dean’s glare was more heated than it usually was, and Castiel decided that this was probably fairly important to the other man.

Castiel was actually a little insulted that Dean seemed to truly believe he planned to be rude to his brother. He didn’t even know the kid. Before he could protest, though, another thought came to mind. Dean was offering a deal, and he couldn’t turn that down.

“I want to eat your food.”

“What?” Dean’s expression was incredulous.

“I’ll help pay for groceries, but I want to eat the food that you make. I’m tired of eating ramen and microwave meals, while being forced to smell whatever gourmet feast you’ve cooked up for yourself.” He tried not to sound bitter, but it was hard. The longest part of his day was when Dean was cooking something that smelled amazing as Castiel was forcing down something that may or may not have been meat at some point.

“You want to eat my cooking?”

“Yes. I want you to cook enough for the both of us.”

“Alright. It’s a deal.” Dean grinned and stuck his hand out, as if he’d won that battle. Castiel shook on it. He didn’t see fit to disabuse him of the notion. He had agreed not to mess with Sam for the weekend. He hadn’t said anything about giving Dean the same treatment.

“Where will he sleep?” Castiel asked, and the look he received from Dean said that it was a particularly stupid question.

“Where do you think, genius?” And there truly was reason to be a sarcastic ass. It wasn’t as if the bed he slept in didn’t belong to Sam to begin with.

“Where will I sleep?” He had to ask. He knew Dean wasn’t about to let him out of their deal for the weekend, but he could hope.

“On the couch would be my guess. Unless you’d rather sleep on the floor.”

Castiel sent a glance toward the couch and cringed. It clearly wasn’t big enough to hold a man that was nearly six feet tall.

“Dean…” He knew he sounded pleading, but he couldn’t help but beg a little bit. There was no way he’d be getting decent sleep on that thing.

“Hey, man. Just because I call Sam my little brother doesn’t mean he’s actually smaller than me. He’s little in age  _ only _ .”

Castiel sighed as Dean walked away from him. It was clear that sleeping on the couch was going to be his only option.

  
  


Castiel was in the living room, working on his homework. He’d taken to spending his free time in the shared space while Dean was at work. He’d never tell the man, but his home was quite comfortable (when Dean wasn’t around).

He heard the sound of someone unlocking the front door, and allowed his eyes to stray toward the sound. Dean shouldn’t be home from work yet, so the noise was rather startling. What was even more startling was the size of the man making his way into the house after the door was unlatched.

Before Castiel even realized what was happening, he was on the other side of the room, ensuring there was some space between him and the unknown stranger. His fight or flight instincts apparently pointing toward flight.

The man dropped the duffle bag he was carrying onto the floor before his gaze raised to look at Castiel.

“Uh, hello…” He sounded as uncertain as Castiel felt.

“Hello.” 

They stared at each other for a moment before the other man broke the silence.

“I’m Sam.” He said, and Castiel felt some of the apprehension leave his body.

“Oh! You’re Sam! Dean’s brother.”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

So, Dean hadn’t been lying about how large his brother was. Castiel couldn’t help sizing the other man up a bit. He didn’t look much like Dean.

“Are you… Dean’s, uh, boyfriend?” The question seemed very uncertain, but it snapped Castiel out of his daze.

“What? No! I’m… I’m Castiel. Dean didn’t tell you about me?” Although what he really wanted to ask about was how easily Dean’s brother had seemed to accept that there was a chance that he was Dean’s boyfriend.

“No. No he did not.” Sam sighed and ran a hand through his long hair. “He implied that there would be a surprise waiting for me when I got here, though.”

Suddenly, Sam seemed rather amused by the whole thing, and when he smiled Castiel could see a little of the resemblance between the brothers. Sam’s smile was nearly as charming as Dean’s.

“Not to sound rude, but if you’re not Dean’s boyfriend or something, what are you doing here?”

That was when Castiel realized he’d have to explain the whole thing to Sam. Dean had planned this, he was sure. Castiel would have to admit to Sam that Dean had bested him at test scores, and he’d lost a bet. It was actually quite clever, and Castiel hated him more for it.

  
  


When Dean got home from work, Castiel was treated to the sight of two grown men hugging and wrestling and generally acting like five year olds. It was becoming clear that the two men truly were brothers.

“I’ve only been gone two weeks!” Sam said as Dean pulled him down for a nuggie.

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you, Sasquatch.” Dean finally released his brother, and the pleased smile on the man’s face told Castiel that Sam had missed his brother too.

“I see you met Cas.” Dean seemed to realize then that their actions were being watched, and he blushed a little.

Sam threw an embarrassed look at Castiel as well. “Yeah. He’s been telling me some interesting stories while you were gone.”

“Oh yeah? Did he tell you about the bet?” Dean was wearing the evil grin he’d adopted since Castiel had moved in.

“Yeah. He also told me that you guys have been doing prank wars since he moved in.” Sam’s voice spoke of a certain amount of disapproval, so Castiel was not surprised at the defensive tone Dean used then.

“Did he tell you that he started it?”

The unamused look on Sam’s face said that he was not impressed with Dean’s deflecting. It was highly entertaining. Castiel had thought that Sam was supposed to be the younger brother, but he looked like a disappointed parent.

“Did he tell you that he coated the floor with crisco?”

Castiel couldn’t help but smile at that memory, but then Sam turned that look on him, and it wasn’t quite as funny anymore.

“Dean put saran wrap over my doorway!” He defended.

Sam sighed and shook his head at them.

“Those aren’t even good pranks. I did better when I was ten. Honestly.”

That was when Castiel noticed the smile that was tugging at the man’s lips.

“You’re not allowed to participate.” Dean informed him, heading toward his bedroom. “I made Cas agree not to mess with you while you’re here. I’m going to wash up a bit and get started on dinner.”

Castiel’s stomach rumbled at the thought of finally getting to enjoy one of the meals he’d seen Dean prepare. 

“That deal clearly ended in my favor.” He remarked as he dropped back onto the couch.

“What deal?” Sam asked as he joined him.

“We made a deal that I wouldn’t mess with you while you were here, and in exchange Dean has to let me eat whatever he makes.”

“You made a deal with him to make you food?” Sam laughed.

“Yes. I can’t live off of microwave meals while your brother eats food that smells like heaven.” He didn’t understand what was funny about that. It was actually quite terrible in his opinion.

“The joke’s on you this time, Cas.” Sam told him grinning. 

Castiel didn’t know how that could be possible.

“Dean loves making food for people. He’s probably been looking for an excuse to make you eat his food since you got here.”

Castiel had to remove a mark from his mental tally. “That’s alright. I had no plans to do anything to you while you were here, anyway.” He couldn’t keep the disappointment from his voice, though. Sam just laughed at their ridiculousness.

  
  


Castiel should have known that Dean wasn’t going to let the weekend pass without incident. Sure, he’d already decided that not messing with Sam didn’t mean he couldn’t mess with Dean, but for some reason he hadn’t thought that Dean would be thinking the same way.

The sun wasn’t even in the sky yet when Castiel was roused by the most horrible sound he’d ever heard. He jumped at least three feet in the air, and since the couch he’d been sleeping on was was not particularly wide, he landed on the floor.

Groggily, he lifted himself from the floor to glare at the man in the kitchen that was currently grinding what could only be nails in the blender. Dean grinned at him cheekily.

When the sound finally stopped Castiel growled at his roommate. “What in the  _ hell _ are you doing?”

“Sammy likes to have these weird health shakes for breakfast. I’m just making one for him while he’s on his run.” Dean told him nonchalantly.

Castiel sighed and rubbed his hands across his face. He should have known the second Dean told him he’d be sleeping in the living room that sleep was not really going to be an option. He didn’t even bother lying back down.

He’d just gotten his blankets folded and neatly stacked at the end of the couch when the front door opened and Sam ambled in.

“Hey, what are you guys doing up? Did I wake you?” Sam seemed genuinely concerned that he might have been the cause.

“Nah, Cas here is an early riser. Isn’t that right, Cas?” Dean’s grin was the most annoying part of the man. Castiel just glared at him in response.

“Shake?” Dean offered his brother a large glass of something that looked like ground up trees.

“Thanks!” Sam said gratefully, before realization seemed to dawn. He frowned at his brother. “Seriously, Dean?”

Dean’s grin only spread.

“I suppose I’ll get ready for work now, since everyone is up anyway.” Castiel told them, before locking himself in the bathroom until he had to leave.

  
  


“You wear a lot of pink. Is that your favorite color?” Castiel had only removed his work shirt when he got home, so Sam was treated to a view of his pink undershirt. He’d probably noticed the pink undershirt that Castiel had been wearing to sleep in, too.

Castiel could hear Dean snickering from the kitchen, and he rolled his eyes.

“No, actually. I hate pink. I have your brother to thank for these.” He lifted the bottoms of his pants to show that his socks were the same hideous pink color.

“He ruined your clothes?” Sam actually sounded surprised, which seemed odd. The brothers had told him of the prank wars they’d participated in when they were younger, and the extremes they gone to at times. “You must have really pissed him off.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s one of the rules of prank wars. No permanent damage.”

Castiel tried to remember what he’d done that had cause this retaliation from Dean.

“Oh.” He couldn’t be blamed for not knowing that rule. Dean hadn’t ever said anything. Castiel lowered his voice so Dean wouldn’t be able to hear them. “I inadvertently caused something of his to be broken.”

“Inadvertently?” Sam raised an eyebrow that said he didn’t believe that part.

“Yes. It was not intentional at all.” Castiel defended himself, although he felt that he didn’t really have much of a leg to stand on.

“Did you apologize?”

“What?”

“Did you apologize for ‘inadvertently’ breaking Dean’s things?”

Castiel hadn’t apologized, had he? He’d been upset that it had happened, of course. And he’d tried to clean up the mess, but he’d eventually just brushed it off as a casualty of war.

“Dean will forgive just about anything. You only have to ask for forgiveness.” Sam’s face was so serious it made Castiel think that Dean had forgiven some people for doing much worse to him, before. Maybe even forgiven people that Sam didn’t think deserved forgiveness.

“I think maybe it’s time for a subject change.” Dean said from right beside them, causing both men to jump. He looked upset. He placed two plates filled with food on the table in front of them, and then returned to the kitchen, presumably to get his own plate.

Sam sent Castiel a significant look, but Castiel couldn’t decipher what it’s meaning was supposed to be. 

  
  


Castiel’s boss said that he wouldn’t be needed on Sunday, and while it sucked that he was missing a day of pay, he was glad to have the day off. He was even able to sleep in, since Dean had made plans to meet a friend of his for breakfast.

Castiel was already up, examining the odd bookends holding DVDs up on top of the bookshelf, when Sam came in from his run. He’d never noticed them before, but they were beautiful. They were clearly handmade, maybe in a woodshop class. If you put them together they would form the bat signal.

“That’s his father’s day present from last year.” Sam told him, dropping onto the couch.

“He’s a father?” Castiel turned his attention toward the other man. He really shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was.

Sam looked confused for a moment before realization seemed to dawn on him.

“You know that our parents are gone, right? Our mother died when we were very young, and our father left when Dean was sixteen.” 

Castiel knew his confusion was evident. He didn’t know what any of that really had to do with Dean being a father.

“He raised me alone after Dad left.  _ I _ got him that for father’s day. I would have gotten him something for mother’s day too, but when I do that he gets all bitchy.” Sam grinned at his own joke, but Castiel didn’t join him.

He was honestly gobsmacked. The idea that anyone had raised a child at sixteen years old was inconceivable. The thought that Dean had accomplished that feat was even more so.

There were so many questions that had been floating around in his head, when it came to Dean, that were answered with that short explanation from Sam.

“That’s why you have a house.”

“Yeah, Dad didn’t leave much money, and Dean had to drop out of school to get a job. But he wanted to make sure the state didn’t take me away, so he did what he had to.”

Sam let out a fond little laugh while dredging up memories of what could only have been a rough childhood. It couldn’t have been easy, and the fact that the man could look back at those times and smile was unimaginable.

“Dean had to get a fake ID that said he was older than he was so he could buy the place. Then when he was actually old enough to have his name on the mortgage, he had to sell it to himself.” Sam chuckled again. “Well, John Bonham sold the house to Dean Winchester.”

Castiel was silent as he let it all sink in. One of the reasons that Castiel had always assumed Dean wasn’t very smart was because everyone knew he’d had to get his GED before he’d been able to start his college courses. He’d always just assumed that Dean had been a slacker through high school, but he’d actually dropped out to take care of his brother.

Sam sighed and patted the couch cushion next to him. Castiel cautiously took the offered seat.

“Gabriel told me why you dislike Dean so much.”

Castiel felt his face scrunch up in response. What could have possibly possessed Balthazar’s friend to tell Sam that?

Sam seemed to notice the look on his face. “Gabriel and I… well that’s not important. We talk pretty often, and I asked him, so he told me.” Sam looked uncomfortable for a moment, but then seemed to get back on track.

“Look, I know you think he just whores around, breaking hearts. But I’ve never seen him be less than honest with anyone about what he wanted. And I honestly can’t blame him for having attachment issues. It used to upset me, too. It took me a while, but once I realized  _ why _ he didn’t want to grow attached to anyone, well, I couldn’t really be upset with him for protecting himself.”

Castiel didn’t really want to sympathise with Dean, but he listened anyway, with morbid fascination. If what Sam was saying was true, then he’d misjudged Dean from the very beginning.

“Our dad really messed us up, and just because I chose to deal with it differently doesn’t make his way any less valid than mine. I have to develop a relationship with someone before I can think about doing anything else. Dean just went the other way with it.” Sam shrugged, and it was clear that he really had accepted that part of his brother. And he was asking that Castiel accept it, too. He didn’t know if he could do that, but at least he had more of the story now.


	6. The End

Castiel tried very hard not to let his talk with Sam change his opinions on Dean, but it was hard. Whenever he tried to remind himself of the kind of man he’d thought Dean to be, something Sam told him would pop into his head and turn it all around. It was very irritating.

The worst part: he was coming to realize what an asshole he’d been, and he did not like seeing that side of himself. He’d been the cause of all the animosity between them, and if what Sam had said was true, Dean didn’t deserve that. 

When you took away the idea that the man was going around breaking people’s hearts, Dean was a pretty great guy. He had some abandonment issues that prevented him from wanting to have a relationship, but that didn’t make him a bad person. It was a way of protecting himself.

Castiel had a lot of experience with that. After all, protecting himself was the reason he had been so rude to Dean to begin with. He’d worked so hard to make sure that pretty face didn’t get under his skin for a reason. 

He also found he just couldn’t get angry at Dean like he used to. He still got mad if Dean took too long in the bathroom, or when he took advantage of Castiel’s lack of cognition in the mornings. But he just couldn’t dredge up any true hostility anymore.

Castiel even found himself putting some of his more outrageous plans of attack on the back burner. He’d spent so much of his time and effort making sure Dean was miserable while he was living with him, and he no longer felt the need to. All the plans he’d already come up with seemed too harsh, now that his loathing was gone.

But he didn’t really want Dean to know that his feelings had changed, so he’d have to come up with a few smaller things to irritate the man with. The last thing he needed was for Dean to know his entire plan had worked perfectly. Now he not only respected Dean’s intelligence, but he’d gotten to know him as a “real person” and he actually kind of liked him.  _ The bastard. _

  
  


Castiel set his alarm for an hour earlier than usual. He hated waking up early, but he didn’t actually know what time Dean woke up, and he had to make sure he was up before the other man. His plan was simple.

Forcing himself to get out of bed, he crept silently through the house. He turned the knob to Dean’s room slowly, pressing the door inwards at an excruciating pace. He didn’t know if Dean was a light sleeper or not, and he didn’t need the man waking up.

Castiel had never been in Dean’s room before, so he took a second to take it all in. There wasn’t much to behold. Dean’s room was quite a bit smaller than the one he’d been using, and there was nearly only space for the bed. There were a few band posters on the wall, and some crumpled clothing on the floor, but that was about it by way of decoration.

Then there was Dean, sprawled spread eagle on the bed, only half covered in his blanket, as if he’d been tossing and turning all night. Luckily, he was wearing shorts, so Castiel wasn’t subjected to anything he shouldn’t see.

Dean’s face was relaxed in his sleep, and for a man that was incredibly attractive while he was awake and grinning, he somehow managed to be even more so when he was unconscious. Probably because he had to be one of those awful human beings that looked good no matter what they were doing.

Castiel made his way to the man’s bedside, and reached out a hand. If he did this quickly enough, Dean would never even know he was here. So, he quietly finished his business and crept from the room.

 

Castiel was enjoying his second cup of coffee when the sound of what could only be a man falling out of bed reached his ears.

“Shit!” Came immediately after, followed by another few. “Shit, shit, shit, shit!”

Dean came crashing out of his room at an alarming rate, pulling his shirt on as he walked.

“Messing with my alarm, Cas? Really?” He sounded much more annoyed by the whole thing than Castiel felt was warranted. Dean had messed with his alarm multiple times already. And this was one of the tamer pranks they’d pulled.

“Are you sure you didn’t just forget to set it?” He had hoped that Dean would blame himself for the incident, until Castiel decided to inform him otherwise. He didn’t expect that the man would suspect him immediately.

“Damn it, Cas! I checked it three times before I went to bed last night! Don’t try to pretend like you didn’t mess with it.” Dean shoved his boots on without even doing up the laces. He didn’t even glance toward the bathroom, just grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

“I have a test this morning, you dick!”

The door slammed after him and Castiel was left in silence.

He hadn’t even thought of that possibility when he’d planned this. He’d only been thinking of making Dean a little late for his class, but now he felt terrible. Some of the professors were known for not allowing people into the classroom if they showed up late on a test day, and he hadn’t meant for that to happen at all. He hoped that Dean was allowed to take his test, and he spent the rest of his late morning trying to come up with a plan for if he didn’t. Dean’s grades shouldn’t suffer because of a little prank.

By the time he had to head out for his own classes, he’d resolved to speaking to Dean’s professor himself, if he had to. Even if it meant confessing his own sins, or begging for another chance for Dean. He would do what he had to.

  
  


Castiel decided to stay at the school and study after class. There were a few books at the library he could use, and he wouldn’t have to go home to an irate roommate. He had every intention of working things out with Dean, but that didn’t mean he had to face Dean quite yet. He’d give the man a little time to cool off first.

He had only been there a little while when he was interrupted.

“Mr. Novak, could you come with us, please?” A voice sounded from above him, startling him out of his studying. The man that stood nearest him was large and intimidating, even more so when Castiel recognized the badge on his chest. It didn’t help that another man in blue stood a little behind and to the side of him.

“I’m sorry, what?” He knew he was just staring at the man but he was honestly so shocked that an officer was talking to him that he didn’t know how to respond.

“Could you come with us, please?” The officer asked again in a tone that suggested it was not truly a question. He placed a hand on Castiel’s back, and one on his arm and then proceeded to force him to stand.

He didn’t have time to react. His gaze swept around the library, although he didn’t know what he was looking for. A way out, maybe? He certainly didn’t remember doing anything that would warrant an arrest.

The officer led him out of the room, forcing him to walk at a pace he was not prepared for. Every time he tripped over his own feet the officer caught him, pulling him back upright without effort, and forcing him to continue out the door.

He had no idea what was going on. Had he done something illegal? He hadn’t done anything stupid since his bet with Dean. What was this all about?

When they made their way into the hallway, the officer used a large hand to the shoulder to press him against the wall. The other one came around to flank him. There was no escape. He gathered his courage and looked the officer in the eye. He didn’t have anything to worry about. He hadn’t done anything wrong.

“What is this about?”

The officer drew back a little so he was no longer looming over Castiel, which was a relief. ”We received a tip that you have been selling drugs to the other students.” He said seriously.

Castiel was shocked. He couldn’t even make his mouth move to deny it.

“We would like to search your belongings.” 

That was when he noticed that the other officer was carrying his bag, his laptop was tucked under the other man’s arm, and the book he had been digging through was in his hand. Did they think he was hiding drugs in library books, too?

He forced his head to nod. He knew the charges were outrageous, but somehow he could still feel fear creep up his spine at the idea of the other man digging through his belongings. What if someone had planted something on him? What if Balthazar had managed to mix up their bags at some point and he was walking around with god only knew what in there?

The officer pulled out a pair of latex gloves, putting them on efficiently. As if he had to protect himself from loose drugs everyday. 

“Are there any needles or sharp objects we need to be made aware of?”

Castiel shook his head, still unable to use his voice.

Everything in the bag was meticulously removed, one item after the other, and lined up on the floor in front of him. He could do nothing but watch, praying that there wouldn’t be any surprises.

When all of the items were emptied, the officer began running his hand around the bag. He felt around with one hand inside the bag and one on the outside presumably looking for hidden spaces.

“It’s clean.” He said, finally.

Castiel felt his heartbeat returning to normal. Whatever this was, it wasn’t a setup. The officers hadn’t found anything untoward in his bag.

“If you’ll come with us, sir.” The pushy officer said, once again forcing Castiel to walk whether he had planned to or not.

“Where are we going?”

“To the school physician’s office.”

“Why?”

“We need to search your person. Unless you would like to do that here?”

Castiel could feel his jaw drop. They were going to stip search him? The officer hadn’t even paused after the question, knowing that no one would agree to that. Castiel allowed himself to be led all the way across campus.

  
  


The laughter that greeted him when he exited the office was enough to let him know how all of this had come about. Dean took one look at his face and broke into even harder laughter.

“This was you?” Castiel asked, shocked. Dean had given them the bogus tip, of that he was sure. For some reason Castiel hadn’t even suspected him, although it should have been obvious.

The other man couldn’t even speak through his laughter and only nodded the affirmative.

“I can’t believe you did this!” He exclaimed, although he really could believe it. Hell, he might have actually deserved it after what he’d pulled this morning.

Dean couldn’t seem to contain his laughter. He was actually wiping tears from his eyes.

“You should see the look on your face!” Dean managed between peals of laughter.

Castiel could only imagine the traumatized look he must have been sporting. Combine that with the surprise from finding Dean responsible and he probably made a fairly ridiculous picture, indeed. He couldn’t help but imagine Dean in his situation and the joy he would have received from being in the other man’s shoes.

Even as Dean claimed his victory, Castiel could feel his own mouth turning up at the corners. Dean had gotten him good. That was the simple truth of it. He’d been the one who started their conflict, but Dean had prevailed. 

He was so relieved that it had all been a joke, he couldn’t even find it in himself to be properly angry.

Dean couldn’t seem to stop laughing, though. 

“It wasn’t that funny.” He grouched, keeping up the illusion of irritation, but he knew Dean wasn’t fooled.

“Oh yes, it was.” Dean grinned at him. 

He’d lost this round, but for once he wanted to laugh along, instead of remaining the butt of the joke. “No, it wasn’t. That was honestly the closest thing to sex I’ve had in months, and it wasn’t nearly as romantic as you may be picturing it.”

Dean’s startled laughter was reward enough for the self deprecation. He couldn’t even stop his own laughter from escaping. 

It was certainly more fun laughing with Dean than it ever had been laughing at him. Maybe it was time to change the pattern.

It couldn’t hurt to de-escalate the situation, either.

When they finally calmed enough, they just stood in the hall facing each other. 

“You know, if I had known you had a test this morning, I never would have messed with your alarm.” It wasn’t a real apology, but it was the best he could do at the moment.

Dean seemed to think about that for a moment. He nodded in a way that might have indicated acceptance. “If I’d known they were going to strip search you, I wouldn’t have called in that tip.”

“Yeah, you would.” Castiel answered automatically, sending a smile to the other man.

Dean chuckled a little at that. “Yeah, I would.” He conceded. “But I do feel a bit bad about it.”

They stood in silence for a while as Castiel gathered his thoughts.

“Do you think that maybe this has gone far enough?” He asked quietly.

“What do you mean?”

“I think we should probably stop this before it gets too far out of hand.” He answered bluntly.

“You mean, call a truce?” Dean looked more intrigued by this idea than Castiel had really thought he would be.

“Yes.”

“I would be in for that.” Dean smiled, and it was a sweet smile that he’d never seen directed at him before.

“Alright. Do you agree to stop pranking and messing with each other and attempt to live in harmony for the rest of the time the bet dictates?” Castiel wanted to make sure that they were on the same page about what they were agreeing to. He didn’t want to think they’d called a full truce and then get blindsided by some of the smaller stuff they’d been doing.

Dean’s face was amused as he surveyed him. “Yeah. Do you?”

“Yes.”

Dean grinned at him and he held out his hand.

Castiel stared at the offered hand for a moment before presenting his own. They shook with average force, their grips normal for propriety, and the deal was sealed.


	7. The Ex

Their truce helped a kind of peace settle in their household. The stress level was much lower when they didn’t have to live in constant fear. The bad side of that was, now that Castiel wasn’t actively trying to deny it, his attraction to Dean was growing rather quickly.

He found himself staring at the other man whenever he wasn’t looking. Dean was an incredibly attractive man, when you looked at him objectively. It was a fact that had annoyed Castiel to no end when he hated him, but now it annoyed him for a completely different reason. How was he supposed to concentrate on anything when that smile was directed at him? 

He’d had to snap himself out of more than one staring contest with the man’s freckles, too. He’d never noticed, before, the tiny spots of color that covered the man’s face so fetchingly. Nor just how long his eyelashes were, or how well they framed his eyes. However, even when he hated him, he’d known how beautiful those eyes were.

Of course, he’d always known that Dean was attractive, but it had always been in a general sense. He’d never really taken the time to look, and now that he had, it was as if he couldn’t stop looking. And it was horrible. He’d been perfectly content not realizing how pouty and kissable the man’s lips were.

But there was no going back, now. He had already discovered these things about his roommate, and he just couldn’t unsee them. Castiel was developing some kind of fascination with the man, and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it.

The last thing he needed in his life was to develop a crush on a straight man. It had been bad enough when he’d fallen for Michael and had his heart broken. At least that heartbreak lay entirely at Michael’s feet. If he fell for Dean, knowing there was no chance of reciprocation, his heartbreak would be entirely his own fault.

So, he did his best to keep his attention off the man, which proved more difficult than expected. He’d caught himself ogling more than once, and had to mentally slap himself for it. 

It certainly didn’t help that their truce had changed Dean’s attitude completely. Castiel hadn’t been wrong in thinking that it was more fun laughing with him than at him. Dean had a quick wit, and an even faster smile. Now that he didn’t spend his time glaring at Castiel, he seemed to spend his time smiling at him. It was disconcerting, having that captivating smile directed at him so often.

He thought he’d learned his lesson with Michael. He thought he’d figured out how to protect himself from his own heart, but clearly he’d been wrong. Dean had already wormed his way in there, and if Castiel wasn’t careful, he was going to end up too deep. And there was no way to protect himself if that happened.

  
  
  


The hand that grabbed his arm, as he headed off campus, was a surprise. He swung around to view the offender immediately. It was Michael. Of course it was Michael.

“Hello, Castiel.” The shiver caused by the sound of the other man’s voice was a natural reaction. He couldn’t stop it. At least it had been followed immediately by a wave of revulsion.

“What are you doing here, Michael?” Castiel would have liked to run from the man, ignore Michael completely, and get as far from him as possible. He knew that wasn’t truly an option, though. Michael was much more athletic than him, and he wouldn’t have gotten far. Even if he had escaped, the other man had enough resources to find him again.

“I’ve been looking for you.” Michael said, moving into his personal space and causing him to take a step back.

“Well, you’ve found me.” He met the other man’s gaze with a glare.

“So I have.” Michael’s grin was predatory and he stepped toward him, again.

Castiel took another pointed step away. ”What is it that you want?” He asked, tiredly.

“I would have thought that would have been obvious by now.” Michael’s tone was flirtatious, but still managed to sound threatening.

“And I thought it would have been obvious that it wasn’t going to happen by now. I guess we both have been disappointed.” Castiel tried to sound flippant, but knew his tone fell short.

“Why are you still angry with me?” Michael seemed genuinely confused, which only served to fuel Castiel’s rage. How dare he act as if Castiel’s feelings weren’t justified?

“You know exactly why I am angry, and I hope that you don’t truly believe that I will  _ ever _ forgive you.” 

“I think you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me someday.” Michael sounded so confident, and patronizing. 

Castiel could feel his fury boiling just under his skin. He needed to get away from the man before he did something he would regret. Michael had too many connections, and would surely make his life a living hell if he crossed that line. All he truly wanted to do was connect his own fist to the other man’s beautiful face. 

“You will be proven wrong. Now, if that is all you were here for, you can be on your way.” He tried to sound dismissive.

Michael sighed, as if Castiel’s actions were causing him great pain. “Come on, Castiel. I don’t understand why you won’t give me another chance.”

Yes, Michael was beautiful, and everything that Castiel had wanted at one time, but that was before he’d really known what he was getting into. That was before he’d figured out that this beautiful face did not represent the horrible man inside.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone, Michael? You don’t want me. You want someone that will sit at home and be the perfect boyfriend, while you go out and do whatever you want, with whomever you want. You want someone that will accept your bullshit excuses without question. I am not that person. Just go back to screwing your way through the population, and leave me alone.” His tirade had started passionate, but by the end it was an exhausted whisper. He hated that Michael could still affect him like this.

“I’d rather be with you.” The tightness in Castiel’s chest could not be helped. Michael had always had a silver tongue. He’d always known exactly what to say, but it wasn’t going to work anymore. Castiel steeled himself.

Luckily, Michael’s attention was drawn to something behind him. 

When he turned to look, Dean was standing there with a sheepish expression.

“I got out of class early. I was just coming to see if you needed a ride home.” Dean seemed embarrassed and it didn’t take much to figure out that he’d overheard more than Castiel would have liked, and he knew it.

Castiel couldn’t even be angry with the man. He’d been trying to do something nice, after all. 

Suddenly, he had an idea. He just hoped that Dean would play along.

“Of course, Dean. Thank you.” Castiel said sweetly. He made sure to smile adoringly as well. 

Dean looked completely taken aback for a moment, but understanding seemed to dawn quickly, especially as Michael’s face twisted unattractively with his rage.

“You treat me as if I am some kind of whore while you are spending your time with someone like him? He’s worse than I am!”

“No, he’s not.” Both of the other men looked surprised at the vehemence in his voice, “The differences are too many to list, but I believe I know what you are insinuating and that is just not true. Whereas a man like you will sleep with all and sundry while in a committed relationship, Dean at least has the heart to not make any such commitments.”

“Are you implying that he’s better than me because he _ won’t _ commit?” Michael asked incredulously.

“Yes.” Castiel stated simply. Fortunately, Michael was too busy with his outrage to notice the astonishment that crossed Dean’s face. 

“Dean made it very clear that he was only interested in sex. He didn’t play on my emotions with declarations of love while he screwed everyone else he could find.” Apparently, with Dean by his side, he could rid himself of his sadness, and his rage was able to return. Although, his rage made him lash out with no thought to the consequences, as always.

He hoped he wasn’t crossing a line, insinuating that he and Dean were sleeping together. The look on Michael’s face was reward enough, though. Even if Dean denied it immediately, he would always remember that face.

Castiel pointedly turned away from Michael. He locked his gaze on Dean’s, silently begging him not to give away the game. 

“Come on, babe. Let’s get out of here.” Dean said, shocking him into immobility. He seemed to be able to read Castiel’s surprise. He reached forward to wrap his arm around Castiel’s shoulders, and began to lead him toward the parking lot.

Castiel breathed a sigh of relief.

“Don’t come crying to me when you end up with an STD!” Michael raged from where they’d left him.

 

By the time they got to the car, Castiel had calmed considerably. He should have been nervous about what Dean would think, but he was so pleased by the outcome that he couldn’t be bothered.

“Thank you, Dean.” He said quietly, as he settled into the passenger’s seat.

“No problem.” The man grinned at him and started the engine.

They rode in silence for a few minutes, until Castiel finally broke it. He needed to know what he’d be facing when they got home. 

“Name your price.”

Dean seemed surprised for a moment. When he answered his tone was mild, as if was completely unbothered, not only in finding out that Castiel had been dating a man, but also by the insination that he was his current lover. “I don’t expect a forfeit for that one.” 

“Really?” Castiel asked in disbelief. Their animosity may have been mostly over, but he thought Dean would ask for _ something _ in exchange for his help.

“Yeah.” The man sighed when he saw the doubt on Castiel’s face. “Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. I’m not going to punish you for that.”

Castiel sat in stunned silence. He hadn’t even planned to fight Dean on this one. He would have given him nearly anything he’d asked for.

Dean sent him his cockiest grin. “Plus that guy is a total dick, so I’m kind of glad I was involved in taking him down a peg or two.”

Castiel had no response to that. Dean was absolutely right. It was nice to finally feel like he’d gotten something over on Michael, for once. The silence that fell on the car was comfortable, but was broken a minute later.

“Did he really do that to you?” Dean’s voice was apologetic, as if he was ashamed to ask. Castiel knew he at least owed him an answer.

“Yes.” He kept his tone soft, so the other man would know he wasn’t upset with the questioning.

“Is that why you hate me so much?” The question seemed sincere, and Castiel was inclined to answer it honestly.

“I don’t hate you, Dean.” He told him, catching his gaze before it shot back to the road before them. “But yes, that is why I was so angry at you before. I assumed that you were the same kind of man as Michael.”

“But you don’t believe that anymore?”

”No. Not really. You may sleep around, but at least you are honest with your lovers.” And he truly did believe that, now. There was a huge difference in the way he’d been treated by Michael, and with the way Dean treated his lovers. He was upfront and honest from the beginning.

Dean still cringed at his answer, as if he was still upset about the way Castiel thought of him. “Cas, you know that other stuff isn’t true either, right?”

“Which stuff?” He was actually intrigued to hear what else Dean would say about the rumors surrounding himself.

“The number of people I’ve been with has been  _ greatly _ exaggerated.”

Well that was a surprising admission, to be honest. Dean was proving all of his preconceived notions wrong. He’d always seemed like the kind of guy that would brag about something like that. “How do you mean?”

“Well, if the rumours are to be believed, I have a new girl over every night. I mean, my number would be, well, just insane if that were true. I mean, I’m not claiming to be a saint or anything, I’ve had my fair share of lovers. I just… well there’s not nearly as many as people make it out to be.”

Castiel contemplated that piece of information for a moment. The rumours he’d heard had been along the lines of what Dean was insinuating. How must it feel to know that the things they said weren’t true, and not really be able to defend yourself?

He’d been living in Dean’s home for weeks. He knew the man’s schedule, and his responsibilities. He hadn’t seen even one girl, and Dean had won the bet. He didn’t have to abstain while Castiel was staying with him.

“I’m not saying that I wouldn’t love to be having that much sex, don’t get me wrong.” Castiel realized that he hadn’t said anything to Dean’s admission, and the other man seemed to be continuing his argument. “I’m just saying, I don’t understand how people can think I am. I mean, do I not need to sleep? To study or work or eat? Do they think I can just live on sex?”

Castiel didn’t really have an answer to that, so he said nothing. It appeared to just encourage the other man to continue talking.

“And it’s not like people just jump into bed with you. You have to work for it. All the chatting, and flirting, and drink buying. And honestly, I just don’t have that kind of time.” 

He sounded exhausted just talking about it, and it brought a smile to Castiel’s face. It was a logically sound argument, no one had that kind of time.

“Oh my god. They don’t think I have women delivered or something do they?”

The look of horror that crossed the other man’s face as he asked was enough to pull a real laugh out of Castiel. He was beginning to see just how ridiculous those rumours truly were.


	8. The Redhead

The weekend came again, and with it Sam Winchester. Although Castiel resented the man a bit for making him rethink his views on Dean, he found he was glad to hear he was coming. Sam’s presence made Dean so content, it was hard not to want the man around — even if it meant sleeping on the couch again.

Not that Sam himself wasn’t reason enough to be pleased to see him. Castiel liked to think that they were well on their way to real friendship. They got along rather well and, even when Sam was destroying all his misconceptions, he was very easy to talk to.

Actually, Sam was one of the biggest factors in Castiel’s feelings toward Dean turning around so quickly, and not just because of the things he’d said. 

Sam was, quite obviously, a good man. He was respectful and courteous, considerate in a way that said he’d been raised right. He was the kind of man that made you think that there were still parents in the world that taught their kids manners and discipline. But Sam didn’t have any parents to set an example for him. He’d only had Dean. 

The man Dean was rumored to be, would never have been able to raise a man like Sam.

  
  


He’d only just gotten through the tale of his drug search when Dean got home. He and Sam were on the couch laughing at the story.

Dean’s smile was already in place when he came through the door, probably anticipating his little brother’s presence.

“Sammy!”

Sam cringed at the nickname, but turned toward his brother. “Hey, Dean. How was work?” 

“Oh, who the hell cares? It was work. How was Stanford?” Dean grinned, making his way to the other couch plopping down to turn his full attention on Sam.

Sam’s face lit up, and Castiel was sure there were plenty of things that he wanted to tell his brother about Stanford.

“It was awesome.” He said plainly, and then immediately changed the subject. “So, I hear you called the cops on Castiel.”

Castiel and Dean both flinched at his tone. Castiel had not been aiming for that disappointment from Sam when he’d been telling the story.

“I was angry. I know I crossed a line.” Dean wasn’t meeting his brother’s eyes any longer, and his tone was contrite.

Sam let him suffer in silence for a moment before he snorted a small laugh.

“Well it’s good that you two called a truce before you actually killed each other.”

  
  


On Saturday morning, while he was preparing for work, Dean asked him if he would be alright with one of his friends coming over. At Castiel’s incredulous look he’d rushed to defend himself.

“Look, I know that you are having to sleep in the living room while Sam’s here, and I know you’d probably prefer it if I didn’t have people over, but my friend is usually very busy and she finally has some free time. I’d like to be able to spend it with her.”

Castiel’s disbelief only increased. “To be honest, I was wondering why you were asking me. Not only have I invited a group of assholes over here already, but this is your home, Dean. You don’t have to ask me if you can have people over.”

Dean’s face held it’s own surprise then. “You don’t think you should get a say in people coming over here?”

“No.”

“Well, that’s crazy. We called a truce, so I’m not inviting anyone over unless you are cool with it. And you’re sleeping in the living room! You can’t even go to your room and hide. Just think about it and let me know.” Dean moved toward the kitchen, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe that Castiel was so dense.

“Just one friend?” Castiel called after him.

“Yeah, Charlie. You’ll like her, she’s goofy.”

“I’m sure that will be fine.” He didn’t really feel it was his place to deny Dean having his friend over, but Dean had given him that chance anyway. “As long as I’m not kept up too late. I do have work in the morning.”

Dean turned fully to face him then, grinning. “Of course. Don’t worry. Charlie is a total nerd. We won’t be partying. She’ll probably want to play dungeons and dragons or something.” 

Dean snorted a laugh and went back to whatever he was doing in the kitchen, as Castiel finished getting ready for work. On his way out he stopped, calling for Dean’s attention.

“Hey, Dean?”

“Yeah?” Dean looked up from the ingredients he was chopping expertly.

“Thank you.” The sincerity in his voice surprised him, but it brought a smile to Dean’s face.

“Anytime.”

  
  


Charlie was not at all what Castiel had been expecting. The women that hung around Dean at school were all long limbs and flowing locks, with that fake manicured look to them. Charlie was not like that at all.

She was a short little redhead, with a curly bob haircut and an honest smile. When they were introduced, her smile turned calculating.

“Well hello there, handsome.” She said, making him blush. He was completely inept at dealing with women flirting with him. And he hated outing himself to strangers.

“You sure know how to pick ‘em, Dean.” Her lips curled into a smirk, and Castiel realized he was just being used to make fun of Dean. He nearly breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to have to fight off the woman’s advances all night, although it wouldn’t have been the first time he’d had to do so.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t start.” Dean said, rolling his eyes. “You know perfectly well who this is, and why he’s here.”

That surprised Castiel. He hadn’t told his brother about their bet, and it was obvious they were incredibly close. It was hard to believe that he’d told this friend about it.

Charlie pouted a little at being called out so quickly. “You’re no fun.” She told him.

Then Sam walked into the room and she launched herself at him before Castiel even had time to realize he was there.

“Sammy!” She exclaimed, climbing the man like a tree.

The smile on Sam’s face was every bit as bright as Dean’s had been when he’d opened the door for her.

“Hey, Charlie.” He said, arms full of wriggling excited redhead.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were scoping out Universities! Did you pick one already?” Her rapid fire questioning didn’t seem to faze the man.

“I was, and I may have. I haven’t made any decisions yet. I’m just home for the weekend. I needed a break from driving all over the country.”

“Yeah. Life on the road is rough.” Charlie agreed, knowingly.

 

They ordered pizza, and Castiel couldn’t help but be disappointed. After being allowed to eat Dean’s delicious concoctions for weeks, pizza seemed like such a downgrade. It was kind of funny. When he’d been feeding himself, pizza had always seemed like a treat. No prep, no cooking, barley any cleanup, and an actually filling and eatable meal. Now, it was almost like a punishment. He was frowning at his pizza as if it had personally offended him.

“Eat up, Cas.” Dean told him, handing him a beer.

Castiel wasn’t usually one for drinking. It wasn’t as if he’d never tried it before, he’d just never really seen the appeal. In his mind, drinking had mostly been reserved for frat boys and violent alcoholics, but as he interacted with this group he understood it a bit better. They weren’t drinking to get wasted and party. They were just a little bit looser with their words and actions. 

The jokes came a little easier, their affection became a little clearer, and they seemed to hold back less. It was as if their social filters were lowered. He could see the appeal of that much more clearly, and he saw no real reason why he couldn’t also indulge. It wasn’t as if things were likely to get crazy anytime soon. They’d only been playing board games all night.

The Winchester brothers and Charlie were already a few drinks in. Castiel had just been drinking water. Dean probably hadn’t even realized he wasn’t drinking with them. It was likely he was only polite by bringing a beer for him, too. 

Since they were eating, they had put their games on hold. Charlie seemed to still be looking for entertainment, and had made some sort of future telling contraption out of paper. Castiel didn’t really see how paper would be able to tell the future, but the sheer amount of amusement coming off of the Winchester brothers said that it wasn’t something he should take too seriously. 

She folded a piece of paper multiple times, forming a pyramid that was split in in four. When she completed the task, she got to work on the next part.

On each of the quadrants that had been formed she wrote the name of a color. She then opened the pyramid and wrote a number on each of the eight new spaces provided. When Charlie finished, she flipped open the flaps the numbers were written on and scribbled furiously. Castiel leaned forward to see what she was writing, but she pulled the paper away, hiding it.

“You’re not allowed to see what’s written in here until the end.” She explained.

“Oh. Why not?” He asked, confused about why he’d been allowed to see the rest of the creation, and not this part.

“You can’t know the fortunes in advance, that’s cheating!” She said, and went back to her work.

Castiel was confused by that explanation, but shrugged it off. He didn’t understand anything about this exercise, but he assumed they would explain it to him when the time came.

It took a moment, but Dean finally asked the question he dreaded was coming.

“You’ve never seen one of these before?” The surprise in Dean’s voice was evident.

“No.” He answered, but didn’t elaborate. He knew that there were many things that people considered common knowledge that he didn’t know anything about. He also knew that many people considered it strange that he didn’t know those things.

“Everyone used to make these things when we were in middle school.” Sam explained, kindly. “It’s silly.”

“Okay, Cas!” Charlie announced, catching everyone’s attention again.

“Pick a color.” She said, presenting the four options to him.

“Green.”

She then began moving her fingers to cause the mouths of the fortune teller to change direction with each of the letters as she spelled out “G-R-E-E-N.” Then she stopped.

“Now pick a number.” 

The numbers he was presented with were 2,5,3, and 8. It would have been easier to pick a number if there was less attention on him.

“Two?” He said it as if it was a question. The others seemed to be taking this much more seriously than they had been before, and it was making him uncomfortable.

Charlie moved the mouths twice, and Castiel was presented with the same numbers again.

“The moment of truth!” Charlie exclaimed, grinning. “Pick a number!”

He didn’t know what the moment of truth was, so he just chose a number at random. “Five.”

Charlie giggled as she unfolded her contraption enough to see what was written under the five.

“You will soon marry the woman of your dreams.” She read.

The bark of sound that came from across the table drew everyone’s attention, which only seemed to amuse Dean further. It quickly turned to full blown laughter, although his mouth was still filled with pizza. Castiel, who had seen the humor of his fortune immediately, couldn’t help but join in the other man’s laughter.

Sam and Charlie’s confused faces only made him laugh harder.

When they’d finally settled enough to talk, Castiel found himself comfortable enough with these people to let them in on the joke. He didn’t usually advertise his sexuality.

“I’m gay.” He told them, grinning.

A look of understanding crossed their faces, and they joined in the laughter.

It felt so good to be able to tell people without worrying about the repercussions, and Sam and Charlie seemed to accept him as easily as Dean had. It was refreshing.

  
  


It wasn’t until Dean asked Charlie if she wanted to stay the night that Castiel realized how late it had gotten. He would have normally been in bed by now, but he’d been having a good time, and hadn’t glanced once at the clock.

“But I thought Cas was sleeping on the couch?” She said, the slur in her voice pronounced.

“Yeah, well, you’re not driving like that.” Dean said with finality.

“It’s alright, Charlie. You can take the couch. I will make a pallet on the floor.” Castiel was in complete agreement that Charlie was in no shape to drive, and honestly didn’t mind sleeping on the floor to keep the girl safe. He’d probably regret it in the morning, but he’d probably had enough to drink that he’d be able to fall asleep, at least.

“No, Cas, it’s fine. Charlie can bunk with me. You have to work in the morning. You don’t need to sleep on the floor.” Dean’s voice was also a bit slurred, and all of his sentences seemed to run together.

Castiel couldn’t help the twinge of annoyance at the idea of Charlie sleeping in Dean’s room with him. He’d spent the entire night watching the two of them. He’d seen the way the two of them acted together, and even though they weren’t in a relationship now, it looked to be inevitable. They were perfect for each other, and he had no doubt that someday she would help the man get over his fear of commitment. With that realization in mind, Castiel did his best to push his annoyance aside. He had no claim on Dean, no matter what his own feelings were.

“Oh fantastic. I get to share a bed with the great Dean Winchester.” Charlie said, laying the sarcasm on thickly. “I finally get to join that exclusive club called  _ everybody _ .”

“You know what? Nevermind. Charlie can sleep on the floor.” Dean sounded more hurt than sarcastic, and Charlie cringed in response.

“I’m just kidding! I would love to share the bed with you!” She dropped to her knees dramatically, her hands clasped in front of her, as if in prayer. “Please let me sleep in your bed!”

Dean rolled his eyes at her, but reached down to help her off the floor. “Come on, asshole.” He said, pushing her toward the hallway.

“Goodnight, guys.”

Charlie yelled her own goodnight at them over his shoulder, as he continued pushing her down the hall.

Sam chuckled a little from his place on the couch next to Castiel, and moved to leave as well. Before he could think better of it, Castiel’s arm shot out to stop him.

“So are Dean and Charlie…?” He let the rest of the question hang, but he could see the exact moment that Sam realized what he was asking.

The man’s face scrunched up immediately. “What? Ew, no. Charlie is like our sister. She’s been around since before Dad left.”

So, she’d already been around for a long time. She really was the perfect candidate for helping Dean get over his issues. It was clear she wasn’t going anywhere, and that’s exactly what Dean needed.

Suddenly Sam’s face changed to pure amusement, as if he could read exactly what Castiel was thinking.

“Charlie is a lesbian.” He stated simply.

That’s when a few of the more odd things fell into place. Dean hadn’t even batted an eyelash when he’d found out Castiel was gay. Castiel had kind of assumed that Dean was only ignoring that part of him, knowing that they had to live together and not wanting to cause unnecessary tension. But if Dean’s best friend was gay, maybe he had really just accepted it.

“You’re thinking that’s why we were so cool about you being gay, aren’t you?”

Well, wasn’t Sam just a perceptive little shit.

“You’re not entirely wrong, but there are a few more things you should probably know, too.”

Castiel directed all of his attention to Sam, then. If it was left up to only Dean, Castiel would have never known anything. Sam was his only source, if he wanted to find out more.

“I’m currently dating a man.” Sam told him, and something else clicked in his mind at the admission.

“Gabriel!” He said before he could stop himself, and Sam snorted.

“Yeah. I told you we talk fairly often.” Sam looked a little embarrassed at his disclosure.

“How the hell does that work?” Castiel asked before slapping a hand over his own mouth. That may have been the rudest thing he’d ever said to the man. Had he really drank enough that he could no longer control what came out of his mouth?

Sam didn’t seem upset though, and he chuckled a little at Castiel’s reaction.

“I know it doesn’t make sense. We’re nothing alike.” Sam had a fond little smile on his face. “But it seems to be working, so I’m pretty content to see where it goes.”

He blushed at hearing Sam’s interpretation of what his comment had meant. When Sam saw it, he let loose a bark of laughter.

“You were thinking about our height difference, weren’t you?”

His blush deepened, and he turned his face away from Sam. He’d never felt like such a pervert before.

“Don’t worry, we make that work, too.” Sam said with a grin, although his own cheeks were a little pinker than they had been moments before.

Castiel’s embarrassment kept him quiet. After a few moments, Sam spoke again.

“You know, I’m not blind.” He said, pulling Castiel’s attention back to him.

“I can see the way you look at Dean.” 

It was like a slap to the face. He was still trying to come to terms with the little crush he’d developed on the man, but apparently he’d been advertising his feelings. He’d told himself so many times to stop staring, and he’d thought he’d gotten better about it. 

Evidently, he had failed.

“I just thought you’d like to know, I’m not the only Winchester that swings both ways.”

Castiel’s eyes shot to Sam’s, automatically. The man looked sincere.

“Why are you telling me this?” Castiel honestly felt a bit betrayed. He’d thought Sam was his friend, and now he was dangling this information in front of him. It was everything he wanted to hear, and nothing he could do anything with. Even if Dean did go for men as well as women, they still wanted completely different things.

Sam shrugged and stood. “Like I said, I’m not blind.” Which didn’t help at all.

“I can see the way he looks at you, too.” Sam said, as he headed for his own bedroom, leaving Castiel alone on the couch, with a dumbfounded expression and his own thoughts.


	9. The Talk

Castiel laid awake for hours that night, thinking about what Sam had told him. He’d attempted to force himself to sleep. He tried so hard to close his eyes and clear his mind, but his efforts just weren’t effective. His mind was racing with ideas and possibilities, and there seemed to be no way to shut them out.

Maybe Castiel had been wrong. Maybe he should have never given a single thought to becoming friends with Sam Winchester. It almost felt like as bad of an idea as making a bet with his brother had been.

Castiel knew that wasn’t actually true, though. Neither of those things were bad ideas.

Sam was still a good man, and as much as Castiel would like to hate him for putting such ideas into his mind, he knew he couldn’t. Sam wouldn’t have told him anything if he hadn’t thought it was something Castiel should know.

But how was Castiel meant to react? It wasn’t as if Sam was unaware of Dean predilection for short term companionship. Did Sam really think that Castiel would be interested in that kind of thing? But, that didn’t make sense. Sam also knew Dean’s promiscuity was one of the reasons that Castiel had hated him, in the beginning.

He was left with only the odd thought that Sam might believe Dean would want a  _ relationship _ , and that was ridiculous. Wasn’t it?

From the day they’d met, until they’d called a truce earlier in the week, Castiel had been nothing short of hostile toward the man. He was sure, if Dean had treated him the way he’d been treating Dean, he would never have been able to develop feelings for the man. It was unthinkable that Dean would have been able to see beyond his horrible attitude and find something to like about him.

The idea that Dean might be attracted to him was not inconceivable. He knew he was a decent looking man, after all. Knowing, now, that Dean could be attracted to men as well as women, it wasn’t beyond the bounds of possibility that he might find Castiel aesthetically pleasing. It was only the suggestion that Dean might be interested in something  _ more _ that was tripping him up.

  
  


When he woke the next morning, he was in a terrible mood. Work was already much too early for his liking, and with the added strain of not getting any sleep the night before, he unquestionably woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

At least he didn’t have to deal with anyone while he got ready. Even Sam seemed to be sleeping in that morning, and he was grateful. He didn’t think he had it in him to deal with other people.

Work was a nightmare, from the moment he walked in the door, until he was allowed to leave. The quiet walk home was the only solace he’d had all day.

When he rounded the corner and saw neither Sam nor Charlie’s car in the drive, he couldn’t help but sigh in relief. As much as he had enjoyed their company, he couldn’t wait to have his own space again. Especially with his attitude as it currently was. He didn’t like subjecting others to this side of himself. Luckily, Dean had already been subjected to his less pleasant moods.

It wasn’t until he was unlocking the front door that he realized Dean’s precious car wasn’t in it’s home under the carport, either. Even in his present state he couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed, which didn’t make any sense at all. It wasn’t as if Dean wouldn’t be back, eventually. This house was his home, after all.

Instead of allowing himself to wallow in his dark side, he headed directly for the room he’d been assigned when he moved in. He stripped down and curled up in the center of the bed, falling asleep nearly as soon as his head hit the pillow.

 

A soft knock on the door woke him, hours later. The color of the natural light filtering through the blinds suggested it was nearly dusk. The door creaked open before he could formulate a response.

“Hey.” Dean’s voice was soft, as if he was trying not to disturb him. “I made dinner. I didn’t know how late you were planning to sleep, but I figured I would let you know before it got cold.”

Castiel let loose a bit of a groan. He couldn’t believe he’d slept as long as he had. And he probably wouldn’t be able to fall asleep when he needed to, again.

“Sorry.” Apparently, Dean took his grunt as a response. For some reason that pulled his lips into a smile.

“No, it’s fine.” He said before Dean could close the door. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

Dean nodded with a smile, and closed the door behind him.

It was harder than it should have been to roll out of bed. It wasn’t as if Castiel was prone to napping during the day, and it took a moment for him to get his bearings back. By the time he made it out to the main room, he felt almost normal again.

Dean was already seated on the larger couch, his meal on the table in front of him. 

“I made a plate for you and put it in the oven to try to keep it warm.” He pointed his fork in the direction of the kitchen.

Castiel found his plate and joined Dean on the couch.

“What are you watching?” He asked, noticing that Dean had the tv on. 

Even though the size and brand of the television clearly showed it had been an investment, the Winchesters didn’t seem to use it that often. The screen showed a doctor and a nurse making out in an elevator. Dean quickly changed the channel.

“Nothing. I’ve just been channel surfing.” He said, although his voice was a little high, as if he was embarrassed. “I was thinking about watching a movie. You interested?”

Once again, Dean was asking his opinion about the goings-on in the household, and it was just as strange as the first time. Castiel couldn’t help the warmth that flooded his chest at the thought that Dean wanted him to feel welcome here. He tried to shut the feeling down quickly, though. He only had a week left in this house, and he needed to get a handle on his emotions if he was going to survive it.

“That sounds nice.” He said before he thought better of it. He was essentially committing himself to at least an hour and a half of alone time with the man.

The argument that ensued over what they should watch turned his hour and a half into two before he knew it.

 

This had to be the most uncomfortable situation Castiel had ever found himself in. The movie was over, and the credits were rolling, but he was unable to leave his place on the couch.

For one thing, he honestly didn’t want to. Dean’s presence was a warm comfort along his whole right side. It was delightfully satisfying to have the man so close to him.

It was also nice to be able to stare, as long as he wanted, without fear of repercussion.

Dean had managed to fall asleep at some point during the movie. Castiel didn’t know exactly when it had happened. But when he finally did notice, he took the opportunity for all it was worth. At one point, that would have meant finding a way to torture the man, but that was no longer what he wanted.

He finally had the chance to  _ really _ examine the parts of the man that intrigued him the most. Castiel eyed the long soft lashes that lay across cheekbones sprinkled with light spots of color. The fine dusting of stubble across his chin from remaining unshaven over the weekend. The full plump of his lips, that just begged to be kissed... 

Honestly, it was no wonder people thought the man had a new conquest every night. 

Castiel let out a sigh, knowing that the credits were coming to an end, and that he’d have to wake the man soon. He didn’t need Dean wondering why he’d waited so long to wake him.

“Dean.” He said, and immediately cleared his throat. His voice had come out much huskier than planned.

Dean stirred in his sleep a bit, before glossy green eyes finally eased opened. They stared directly into Castiel’s own. As much as he hated having to wake the man, those beautiful eyes had been sorely missed when they’d been shut away from view.

“You fell asleep.”

Dean let out a groan that Castiel was sure was meant to display his displeasure, but actually sounded the complete opposite. His body reacted, involuntarily, all the way to his toes at the sound.

“Sorry, man. Was the movie any good?” Dean ran a hand through his hair and rubbed at his face a bit.

Castiel had no idea how the movie had ended. He’d had plenty of distractions right next to him. “It was alright.” He shrugged.

Dean nodded a little, and glanced around. He seemed a little confused and displaced and Castiel couldn’t help but think it was cute.

“Well, I’m going to head to bed. Have a good night, Cas.”

And, again, Castiel was left on the couch, his mind filled with thoughts of Dean.

  
  


Castiel was up before the sun, even though he’d had trouble falling asleep the night before. He didn’t want to be awake, but he was, and he couldn’t get back to sleep. He figured he might as well try to eat some breakfast for once in his life.

By the time he’d made it out to the kitchen, the sun was peeking through the windows. It was strange being up this early. He put on the coffee pot, and began digging through the fridge to see what was available for morning consumption. A small noise behind him had him turning to inspect.

There was Dean in his half naked glory.

Castiel had never seen so much of Dean before, and immediately wished he still hadn’t. The man was gorgeous fully clothed. Now, clad in only boxers, Castiel had seen too much.

Dean’s hand was on his stomach, idly scratching the dark patch of hair that ran from his navel to the elastic of his boxers. 

“What are you doing up so early?” He grumbled, pushing Castiel out of the way so he could grab the eggs.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“You want some eggs? I know you don’t usually do breakfast.” Dean sidled up to the stove. Apparently, he was completely unperturbed with being mostly naked. 

Castiel tried to act as unaffected as the other man. “Yes, please.” He practically whispered. He moved to sit in the livingroom where he wouldn’t be forced to appreciate the view presented.

“How come you couldn’t sleep?” Dean raised his voice a little to compensate for the space between them now.

“I just have a lot on my mind.” He hoped that was the end of the subject.

“That sucks.” Luckily Dean seemed content to let it drop.

Castiel consumed his breakfast in record time. He needed to get as far away from nearly naked Dean as possible. Before he could make it into the relative sanctuary of his room Dean stopped him.

“Hey. If you want, I can give you a ride to school.”

He nodded, and retreated quickly.

  
  


Castiel’s mood had only gotten worse as the day progressed. It wasn’t as if anything in particular had happened, so it could only be blamed on his lack of sleep. He looked forward to getting back to the house, where he’d have a few hours of peace. Or so he’d thought.

The sleek black car — the Impala, as Dean insisted she be called — was parked in the driveway.

“What are you doing home?” He asked, before the door even closed behind him. He knew he sounded disgruntled, but he honestly didn’t care.

“It’s nice to see you too, Cas.”

Castiel just glared. “Why are you here?”

“Seriously? They sent me home early. Not enough work today, and they know that I have school too. What’s your issue?” Dean seemed genuinely confused.

“I’m in a bad mood.”

“Yeah, I can tell.” Dean rolled his eyes.

“I thought I’d have some time to myself, and now you’re here. I’m sorry if I’m a bit disappointed. I guess I’ll have to stay in my room.”

Before he had a chance to move in that direction, Dean was stepping into his path. “Dude, what the hell? I know you didn’t get much sleep last night, but you’re acting like you can’t stand the sight of me.” He sounded hurt.

“Well, I’ve been trying to avoid the sight of you all day, and somehow I’ve seen more of you than ever.” Castiel couldn’t seem to control the vitriol falling from his mouth. He knew it was unfair to be rude to Dean. The man had done nothing wrong.

Dean’s gaze sharpened, as if Castiel’s bad attitude was rubbing off. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I will be in my room, avoiding you. And your stupid face.” Well, now, that was just petty. He almost couldn’t believe it had come out of his mouth.

Dean stepped back, a look on his face as if he’d been struck. “Why are you acting like this now? I thought we’d gotten beyond all of this!”

“It’s not important, Dean. Just leave me alone.” He shook his head, and tried to head toward his room. His arm was grabbed, before he got far, and Dean pulled him back around to face him.

“No! We’re not doing all of this again! We just finally found peace, or so I thought. I’m not going to let you go back to making a mess of things.” Dean’s voice was stern, a tone that Castiel had never heard from him before.

“Just leave it alone.”

“I’m not going to leave it alone, until you tell me what I did.”

Castiel snapped. “You didn’t do anything! I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

A hurt look crossed the man’s face. “Just tell me why. If I did something that terrible, at least tell me what it was so maybe I won’t do it again!”

Castiel stepped right into his personal space, enunciating every word. “You. Didn’t. Do. Anything.”

Dean took a step back. “Oh, so now you’re just going to be a dick for no reason? At least before it was kind of understandable. If I haven’t done anything, then you’re just an asshole.” He hissed the last words through clenched teeth.

Castiel agreed with that assessment immediately. “Yes. I just feel like being an asshole now.”

“But why?” Dean sounded hurt again, and it was becoming clear that he wasn’t going to let this go. Castiel really had only one option left, although it was the most painful one, for him.

“Because I have feelings for you, Dean.”

Dean looked as if he’d just been shot. “What?”

Castiel sighed. He moved to put some space between them, almost falling back into the couch.  “Look, I’m sorry I was acting like a dick. I’ll try to keep it contained.”

Dean seemed to ignore the comment altogether. “You have feelings for me?” 

He’d known the man wouldn’t let that go. “Yes, and I’m sorry about that, too.”

“You’re  _ sorry _ ?”

Castiel shrugged. “I’m sorry that it makes you uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to. You’ve made it very difficult to hate you.”

Dean looked incredibly conflicted. “So, you have feelings for me?”

Castiel sighed, rubbing his face with hands. When he finally looked back up, the look on Dean’s face was all determination. “Can we not? I know my feelings are foolish, but I can’t do anything about them. I’ve been trying.”

“Why are they foolish?”

“I know that you wouldn’t be interested in anything, like that, with me.” Before Dean could deny that, he added, “And even if you were, we’re looking for different things.”

Dean’s face morphed into that familiar amused smile. “So, you’re saying you  _ don’t _ just want me for my body?”

“God, I hate you.” He said, but he could feel his own lips curling into a smile. He was glad to see that Dean’s humor hadn’t left him with Castiel’s admission.

“Nope. It’s too late. You’ve already admitted you don’t hate me.” Dean’s smile turned smug at that. “You really want to have a relationship? With me?”

Castiel didn’t know why Dean sounded so unsure when he’d asked that question. The man was practically perfect. But he supposed it probably had more to do with Castiel’s original animosity than Dean’s insecurity. “I know it doesn’t make any sense. Believe me, I know.”

“Actually, it does make sense.” Dean made a place for himself on the couch next to him, turning so they could still face each other.

“No. It doesn’t.”

“Hold on there, Cas.” Dean made a placating gesture. “Now if you really think about it, it makes a lot of sense.” The way he said it made Castiel believe that maybe Dean had been thinking about it.

“And how is that?” He asked, honestly curious as to what the man’s answer was.

“Well… we have a lot of things in common.”

Castiel snorted. “We also have a lot of ways in which we are nothing alike.”

Dean grinned at that. “Not a _ lot  _ of ways, just enough to keep things interesting.”

Before Castiel could respond, Dean continued. “And, we’ve already worked out most of the kinks that come along with living together.”

Castiel thought about that for a moment and couldn’t help but be amused. “Yes, but it did not come from a calm and well thought out compromise.”

“No, but it was a compromise, nonetheless. We just went about it in a  _ different _ way.” He stressed different in a way that said it was a good thing. That their way had worked, regardless. 

Castiel knew that it was true. They had already worked through so many of the issues a couple would usually face, and would probably be able to get along a lot better because of it. There was one thing, though, that he had to ask about. Even though he knew it probably wouldn’t go over well.

“But, Dean. There’s a reason why you don’t date, remember?” He didn’t actually bring up Dean’s fear of abandonment, but he assumed the other man was aware of his own weakness.

“Well, I kind of hoped that wasn’t something I’d have to worry about with you.” Dean shrugged a little. Castiel could only blink at the man in surprise.

“I mean, all you did was lose a bet, but even when things were at their worst, you never left.” The way Dean said it, with such certainty, it sounded much more noble than Castiel had felt at the time.

“I figure, if you can stick around through the bad and the ugly, you won’t really have a reason to leave through the good.” Dean said reasonably, as if he truly believed what he was saying, and thought that Castiel should too.

“Are you trying to logic me into dating you?”

Dean chuckled a little bit at that. “It’s literally the only thing you respond to.”

The thought that Dean had figured him out so well brought a smile to his face, although it fell fairly quickly. He sighed. “Dean, this is not what you want. I don’t plan on only being around for the sex, and then gone the next day.”

Dean’s face showed a false kind of surprise at that. “Wait, you want to have sex? Well that just changes everything! I thought you just wanted a relationship.”

Castiel couldn’t help but smile at that. The fact that Dean could joke about this actually made the whole conversation a little easier. “You’re an idiot.”

“Maybe we can come to another compromise, then. Maybe we can mix sex  _ and _ a relationship in a way that will be mutually beneficial.”

Castiel couldn’t help but let the thought permeate his brain. He couldn’t really think of an argument against it. He’d made it fairly clear what he was looking for, and Dean still seemed to be on board. Now, it was really just up to him.

Dean gave him a pleading look, then. Perhaps it had taken him too long to respond. “Don’t you think it’d be worth a shot? We’ve already gotten through all the hard stuff. We should at least get some of the good stuff too, right?”

Once again, Castiel couldn’t help but ask. “Why do you want this?”

Dean looked at him as if he was particularly dim. “I like you. I mean, I tried really hard not to; believe me, I tried. But somehow, somewhere between spiking your coffee, and watching those cops search you, you started growing on me. After we called a truce, and I got to see the real you… I don’t know. I guess I just really liked what I saw.”

“Really?” He couldn’t help the disbelief in his voice.

“Come on, Cas. What’s not to like?”

“Am I supposed to be flattered by that?” Castiel tried to keep a straight face, but his twitching lips betrayed him.

Dean’s face was serious. “So what do you say, Cas? You want to give us a shot?” 

“Can I have some time to think about it?”

“Take all the time you need.”


	10. The Conclusion

Castiel did think about it. He thought about it for the rest of the night. He lay in bed — his eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling — thinking about it. He felt like he hadn’t slept properly in days, because all he could do was  _ think about it _ .

He went to class in a zombie-like state. It was better than the irritation he’d been experiencing; he didn’t snap at every person that talked to him. It wasn’t, however, better for his attention span. He might as well have stayed home for his lack of focus on the lectures.

Balthazar caught up to him after his last class. Even the happiness he experienced from seeing his friend wasn’t enough to bring out more than an exhausted half-smile.

“Well you look like hell.” The man said bluntly, shaking his head. “At least this is your last week at casa Winchester, right?”

That thought made Castiel stop right in his tracks.

With all the thinking he’d been doing, he hadn’t once taken into account the fact that the bet was almost over.

“What’s that look for? Has Dean been torturing you?” Balthazar’s playful voice had taken a much more serious note than usual. It was clear he’d thought Dean had crossed a line.

“No, it’s nothing like that. We called a truce.”

“Really?” The disbelief in Balthazar’s voice was evident.

The first few weeks he’d been living with Dean, Balthazar had been his only solace. He answered every time Castiel had called, even though he had to have better things to do than listen to Castiel bitch about Dean. He commiserated with him, consoled him, and sometimes he just listened, adding an “arse” every once in awhile.

Balthazar had also shown a weird sort of pride over the whole prank war. Whenever Castiel would call him to crow about his victories, Balthazar was there to pat him on the back, even laughing outright at some of the more ridiculous things they’d done.

“Yeah. Last week. Things were getting… carried away.”

The intrigue on Balthazar’s face said he wanted the full story, but it could wait.

“So, what’s got your panties in a twist, then?”

Castiel didn’t know if he should share his dilemma with his friend. He knew he was acting foolish, and he didn’t really want to hear that confirmed. “My issues with Dean, now, have nothing to do with the war.”

“What’s going on?” Balthazar sounded worried, and it reminded Castiel that his friend had always been there for him. He didn’t have to fear what Balthazar would say, and Castiel wanted to know what he thought.

“Dean has been great, actually.” He tried to reassure his friend. “Ever since we called the truce, he’s been nothing short of kind. He’s even been trying to make me feel welcome in his home.”

Balthazar’s eyes turned calculating. He stared directly into Castiel’s eyes, searching out what Castiel was trying to tell him. His eyes widened.

“You like him!”

Castiel cringed at the volume of that reveal. 

Balthazar looked contemplative, even going so far a to bring a hand up to his chin. “I did not see this coming.”

“Neither did I.” Castiel admitted.

“So, why do you look like someone peed in your cheerios?” Balthazar looked worried again.

“Because Dean knows.”

The man’s eyebrows flew to his hairline. “How’s that?”

Castiel cringed. “I told him in an effort to get him to leave me alone.”

“Did it work?”

“No. It just made everything worse.” He admitted.

“What’s he doing now?”

“He told me that he was interested. And then he asked me if I wanted to give it a shot.”

“The nerve of that man!” Balthazar exclaimed dramatically. Every note of his voice rang with sarcasm.

Castiel felt he needed to defend himself. “I’m serious! I haven’t slept in days! Why would he do this to me?”

Balthazar gave him a look that said he was unsympathetic to his plight. “Let me see if I am hearing this correctly: you tamed Dean Winchester into the idea of settling down with you —  _ which is what you want _ — and you don’t know what to do about it now?”

When Balthazar said it like that, his stresses seemed a bit ridiculous.

“But what if he isn’t ready to make that kind of commitment? What if he ends up leaving me so he can go back to the lifestyle he’s used to? What if he does what Michael did?”

Balthazar was quiet for a moment, but Castiel was well aware this argument wasn’t over yet.

“So what do you think your options are, here?” His gaze was shrewd.

“I suppose I can either see where this goes, or walk away. My time is almost up, anyway.”

Balthazar’s eyes sharpened further. “But you care for him?”

“Yes.” Castiel admitted.

“And will it hurt you to walk away?”

“Yes.” He confessed again.

“Well, the way I see it, you only have one option.”

“I know.” Castiel sighed. “I just don’t know how to stop thinking about it.”

The look Balthazar gave him, then, said he wasn’t thinking clearly. “Either way, you have a possibility of getting hurt. I admit, if you stay with him, there is a chance that he will end up hurting you; but if you walk away, you will be hurting yourself. I don’t know about you, but I think I would rather have someone to blame for my pain. Someone that’s not me.”

Castiel could see where this was going, but he asked anyway. “What are you saying?”

“Let Dean be the one to break your heart. Don’t do it to yourself.”

Balthazar shrugged, continuing when Castiel didn’t respond to his words. “You’ve already been through all the rough stuff, anyway. You should take advantage of the good stuff for as long as you can.”

“That’s what Dean said.”

“He’s a smart lad.”

Castiel was rooted to his spot, thinking over what his friend had said. It was a perfectly logical way of thinking, and he couldn’t come up with a true argument against it.

“Cassie, do me a favor?” Balthazar claimed his attention, again. “Don’t break his heart. This is a big step, you know? He’s trusting you, in a way that he’s not really prepared for. If he breaks his own heart, that’s on him. Just don’t…” Balthazar sighed and turned his head away. When he turned back, his eyes were a little pleading. “Just don’t.”

Castiel couldn’t help but gather his friend into his arms. Maybe Balthazar was a little closer to this whole thing than he’d ever thought. “Thank you.” He whispered.

He wanted to say ‘I’m sorry someone did that to you’. He wanted to say ‘I couldn’t have gone to anyone else with this’. But he knew that would just make the man uncomfortable, so instead he just squeezed him to his chest a little bit tighter.

“Alright, Cassie. I don’t need rumors flying around about me, too,” Balthazar said, taking a step back. His regular sarcastic smile was a welcome addition. “You know I tell the boys I’ve never been with a man before to get them into bed.”

Castiel rolled his eyes at his friend, but couldn’t help the smile on his face. He finally had an answer for Dean.

  
  


Castiel could have gone about it completely straightforward. He could have approached Dean like a perfectly reasonable adult, and explained what he wanted. But that wasn’t how they’d started this whole thing, and that had worked out better than he could have ever predicted.

So, instead of telling Dean that he’d like to take a chance on him, he went about it in a much more roundabout way. 

With Dean’s work and class schedule as it was, he needed to be awake a bit later than usual if he wanted to see the man when he got home. Plus, if he wanted a chance to get under Dean’s skin in the morning, he’d have to wake up earlier than he was normally used to, as well.

He took a nap when he got home. Since Balthazar had eased his mind about his choice, he was able to fall asleep easily, with a smile on his face.

The sound of Dean closing the front door was what woke him. It was nearly perfect timing for his plan, so he only spent a moment berating himself for forgetting to set an alarm before he’d dozed off.

He could hear Dean shuffling around in the kitchen, and hoped that meant Dean was planning to stay up for a while. He ran his hand through his hair a few times, trying to tame it a bit. Then, he threw on a pair of sweatpants that were a little loose. He didn’t bother with a shirt.

When Castiel found him, Dean was sitting on the couch, a beer in one hand, and the other flipping the pages of his calculus textbook. He glanced up while taking a swig from his beer.

The man’s eyes stopped at his bare chest, and the swallow that followed was audible.

“Uh, hey.”

“Hello, Dean.” Castiel answered in that deep gravelly voice he’d been told sounded like sex. If the visible shiver that passed through the man was any indication, Dean thought so, too. He fought to contain his smirk as he joined the man on the couch.

“I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“No, it’s fine. I didn’t mean to sleep this long anyway. I only meant to take a nap.”

“Are you still having trouble sleeping?” Dean asked with concern.

Castiel turned a glare in his direction. “Of course. I have a lot of things to think about.”

Dean cringed a bit, and took another swig of beer. “Sorry. I didn’t mean for you to lose sleep over it.”

Castiel shrugged a little. He knew the man hadn’t been trying to make his life harder. It helped knowing that he’d probably sleep fine, now.

Dean seemed to be trying to act casual, returning to flipping through his book, occasionally sipping from his beer. It was only the tension visable in the other man that said he was only going through the motions. Castiel wondered if Dean would come right out and ask him what he’d been thinking.

After several minutes it became clear that he wouldn’t, and Castiel decided he’d made the man uncomfortable enough for one night.

“I guess I’m going to go try to get a little more sleep. Have a good night, Dean.”

“Goodnight, Cas.”

His pants slipped a little lower on his hips as he rose, and Dean’s gaze snapped up immediately. As he headed back to his room, he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.

The staring contest Dean had with his hipbones said step one had been successful.

  
  


It didn’t take long for Dean to figure out what Castiel had been doing. It had to be fairly obvious. He wasn’t all that subtle.

It was as if he’d completely changed his wardrobe, overnight. Castiel suddenly only owned loose pants, and all his shirts had disappeared, mysteriously. 

It wasn’t the only abrupt change in their lives, either. Castiel, suddenly, no longer knew a single thing about personal space. He sat too close, he stood too close, and everything he needed was always directly behind or next to his victim. Not once did he ask Dean to move out of the way, either. He just leaned right into him to reach for whatever it was he’d needed.

So, it didn’t take Dean long at all to figure out his plan. Which, to be honest, he hadn’t really thought it would. The part he hadn’t planned on was Dean’s retaliation.

He’d thought that when Dean figured it out, he’d play along with this new dynamic. He should have known better.

Instead of playing along, Dean began to fight back. The man knew how attractive he was, and he was using it to try and regain the upper hand.

He and Dean had been playing a game of cat and mouse for days, but he was confident the man would break soon. Most times, he had the look on his face of a predator. Like he wanted to hunt Castiel. And then eat him.

That look had been fueling all of Castiel’s fantasies. He didn’t need any more material. The thought of what would happen when Dean finally broke was plenty.

As it turned out, though, Castiel should not have allowed such thoughts to enter his mind. Once they were there, he couldn’t seem to think of much else. And that was his downfall.

When friday night came, it seemed to hit a breaking point. Dean came out wearing nothing but a loose pair of flannel pants, and Castiel couldn’t really say much. He hadn’t been wearing anything more than that, either. The act was only heightened by the fact that Castiel was also half naked.

He forced himself to ignore it. He pretended like he couldn’t feel the tension between them building. He pretended he wasn’t even looking at the expanse of skin that was displayed for him. He didn’t know how successful he was, though.

When Dean sat on the couch next to him, their bare skin brushed together. Castiel had to close his eyes against the rush of want, but managed to settle his hormones rather quickly. It wasn’t until Dean got up to go to bed that he lost control.

Dean was clever, and when he got up, he made sure to stretch, showing off the play of muscles under his skin. It was enough to raise Castiel’s blood pressure significantly, and he was glad Dean wasn’t going to be a distraction much longer. He was close to the edge of his patience. But Dean didn’t stop there.

He moved to the other side of the table, across from Castiel, bending over it with the pretence of picking up one of his school books. While his head was bowed, he lifted his eyes to look up at Castiel, his too green eyes filled with promise. 

That was the absolute last straw. Castiel launched himself, over the intrusive table, and at the other man with a growl. They tumbled down in a tangle of limbs.

Before Dean had a chance to crow about his victory, Castiel pressed his lips to the other man’s. Dean did not put up a fight. When they broke for air, Dean sent him a cheeky smile.

“Fucking, finally.”

Castiel shut him up with his own mouth, again. It seemed to be a rather effective method.

Slowly but surely, they managed to untangle themselves, never once releasing the other’s lips. Arms that hand been freed, came up to explore each other. Legs moved to spread into more comfortable positions. And then, the contact that they both really wanted.

Dean moaned and thrust up into him when their erections grazed each other through the fabric of their pants. It was such a beautiful sound, Castiel found himself thrusting down to meet him, in the hopes of eliciting that sound again.

Dean’s wandering hands found their way to the small of his back, and he used the leverage to move upward and draw noise from Castiel, instead.

“Fuck. I’ve been thinking about this for so long.” Dean told him, panting a bit.

“Me too.” Castiel admitted, moving his attention to the line of the other man’s jaw. He licked and kissed his way across it, pausing to nip at an earlobe. Dean jumped a little, so he did it again.

“You’re going to want to stop that if you want this to last.” Dean gasped.

Castiel thought on that for only a split second. He didn’t care if this lasted. If things went the way he hoped they would, he would get this opportunity whenever he wanted. And he really wanted Dean to be as much of a mess as he felt. He moved his attention a little lower to the soft skin just behind the man’s ear. When his teeth grazed that spot, Dean’s breath left him in a rush.

“So, you don’t want this to last, then.” He grinned and thrust his hips again. He used the motion to push them into a roll, changing their positions.

Dean kneeling over him was just as hot as the Dean writhing beneath him from moments before.

“Do you at least want to move to a bed?” Dean breathed in his ear, as he moved to explore Castiel’s own weak spots.

“Fuck that.” Castiel told him, tipping his head back to allow the other man better access.

The chuckle he received for his answer danced across his skin, and an involuntary shiver ran down his spine.

Dean pulled back so he could look him in the eye.“You really want our first time together to be quick and dirty? On the floor?”

“Dean.” Castiel met the other man’s gaze steadily. “As long as this isn’t the  _ only _ time, that won’t matter. We don’t have to make this romance-novel worthy. We’ll have time for that later.”

Dean’s eyes widened in a way that might have been comical, if they hadn’t been in their current position. Castiel hoped that the implication was sinking in.

“I suppose you’ve got a point, there.” Dean said, a note of amazement in his voice, and he sat back on his heels.

Castiel didn’t want Dean getting distracted by his own thoughts, so before Dean could get comfortable, he pulled the man to him. He rolled, reversing their positions again, and reattaching his mouth to the other man’s. He hoped it worked as effectively at turning off his brain as it did cutting off his words.

Instead of waiting to see if it did, Castiel did the one thing he knew would bring the mood back on track. As Dean started to melt into his kiss, he slipped his hand into the man’s pants.

Dean grunted, his breath rushing out of him and across Castiel’s face. “Fuck, Cas! You don’t mess around.”

“I know what I want.” To prove his point, he gave Dean’s erection a squeeze, and ran his hand along it’s length. 

Dean groaned into his mouth. “Fuck.” He said again, his hands fumbling hurriedly to return the favor. 

When Dean finally got a fist around his length, his own strokes faltered. It felt like he’d been waiting an eternity to have that hand touch him. He thrust into Dean’s fingers, an uninhibited moan falling from his lips.

“Jesus, Cas. That voice. Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

As flattering as Dean’s praise was, he didn’t like the fact that Dean was still able to make complete sentences. He would have to change that.

He leaned back just far enough to be able to get his hands free. Before the other man could protest, he gripped the elastic of Dean’s pants — pulling them out, over his erection, and down to his thighs.

  
  


“Well, that  _ was _ quick and dirty.” The grin on Dean’s face was clear in his tone.

“Now you may take me to your room to have epic romance-novel sex.”

Dean chuckled. “Oh, may I?”

“I wouldn’t protest.”

“That’s good.” Dean pulled him even closer.

“Do you intend to cuddle me on the floor all night?”

“Not all night. It was your idea to have floor sex. Now you must suffer the consequences.” Dean let loose a very fake maniacal laugh.

“Can I suffer after a shower and in a bed?” Castiel asked, although he had yet to pull away from the embrace.

“I suppose we can come to a compromise. I’ll let you up, if I can join your shower. You know, to conserve water.”

Castiel grinned. “It’s a deal.”

  
  


After their shower, they crawled into Dean’s bed, wrapping themselves around each other. Castiel wouldn’t have thought Dean to be a cuddler, but apparently he was. Luckily, cuddling was his thing, too.

“Do you regret it?” Dean asked into the quiet.

“The sex? Or…” Castiel asked, only partly joking. He didn’t regret anything, but he thought, maybe, Dean was worried they’d rushed into the sexual aspect of the relationship.

“Do you regret deciding to stay with me?” The man clarified, carefully not meeting his eyes.

“Oh, no. I don’t regret  _ that _ .” He answered with unnecessary emphasis on the last word. He was rewarded by Dean’s body jolting and his eyes flicking up to meet his own.

“Wait.  _ Do _ you regret the sex?”

Castiel let the silence hang, as if he really had to think about it. He couldn’t contain it long and a ridiculous grin spread across his face. “No.”

Dean shook his head, a look of wry amusement danced on his face. “You’re such a dick. I don’t even know why I like you.”

“Masochism?”

Dean made a choking sound, as if he’d been startled at the answer. “You’re just full of surprises.”

Castiel grinned at him for a second before his own nerves got the best of him. He had to ask. “Do you regret it?”

“Which one?”

Castiel shrugged, as best he could laying the way they were. “Either. Both.”

“No way.” Dean grinned, and they fell into silence again. 

Castiel broke it this time.

“What do you think Sam will say, when he gets home?”

“Some fucking nonsense and bullshit that essentially equals, ‘I-told-you-so.’”

Castiel couldn’t keep the surprise from his face. He’d known that Sam was gently pressing him to do something with his feelings. He hadn’t really thought of the possibility that he wasn’t the only victim. 

Dean continued without prompting. “Sammy’s a perceptive little asshole. Last time he was here, he was giving me a hard time about it. I told him there was no way it would happen. I told him you weren’t interested in anything like that with me. I guess I was wrong about that.” Dean sounded happy to be proven wrong, though.

“What about Charlie?”

“Same. She said you were  _ dreamy _ .”

Castiel snorted. “I thought Charlie was a lesbian.”

Dean looked surprised and then amused. He huffed out a little laugh. “That’s what I said! Then, she smacked me and said just because she likes girls doesn’t mean she’s blind.”

Castiel was surprised at how happy that simple compliment made him. “Well, that was very kind of her to say.”

“What will Balthazar say?” Dean asked after a pause.

He rolled his eyes before answering. “He’ll be ecstatic. He’ll have his own room to do whatever he wants. Besides, he was there through all that stuff with Michael. He’s been trying to get me to start dating, again.”

“But what about… I mean, how will he feel about me being the one you chose to date?”

“Oh, he’ll still be happy. He thinks that you’re good for me.”

Dean started a bit in surprise. “How’s that?”

“He likes that I act crazy around you. How you make me come out of my shell, or whatever.”

Dean made a happy sound at that. “This is really nice.” He said after a moment, wriggling in an effort to move closer.

“It is.”

“I hope you know what you’re signing up for, here. I expect you to hang around and do this for a while, you know?” The way he said it made Castiel realize that Dean was beginning to doubt that he would stick around, already.

He made sure to lock his eyes on the other man’s. He wanted Dean to know how very serious he was.

“Dean. If you’ll let me, I’d be happy to do this forever.”

The smile he received in return could power the sun. “The sex? Or…?”

Castiel responded to that in the only way he could, leaning forward and silencing the frustrating man with his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, guys, this has been fun! I can't believe I wrote this much without any validation that people were enjoying it! I do hope that you will give me that validation now, though. XD  
> As always, kudos and comments are a writer's food!  
> Check out my current work in progress ["Warning Siren"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10499292/chapters/23163576). It's my only other full AU fic.  
> Or Follow me on [Tumblr](osirisapollo.tumblr.com), if you feel like it ^_^  
> Also, be sure to check out the[Destiel Harlequin Challenge ](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/destielharlequinchallenge2017)and read some of the other great fics written for this challenge!


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